Are companies wrong for trying to cash in on Michael Jacksons death?

[Jon]

Since the news of Michael Jacksons death on Thursday, there has been a world wide demand for information on the circumstances surrounding his death, his music and other memorabilia. Some companies (I wont name and shame) have started to produce advertising banners for Michael Jackson products,and I would expect that come Monday most high street music shops will have re-arranged their displays as well as ordered in more stock.

While I can see the argument of supply and demand, and music shops reacting to this, most of the profit will go back to the record labels, I understand that MJ had his hands in many pots and owned a fair chunk of Sony (need to find the proof for this) so will end up back in his estate to either satisfy his creditors or go towards his family's future.

But what about the people printing MJ t-shirts, I would expect the people printing them will be making a good profit on them.

[fosking]

I think as long as companies are staying within the law (copyright etc), then why not. As stated above, the majority of the money made will go straight back to his estate mainly through Sony. I'm sure he would be very happy to see all these sales and to be finally remembered for his music instead of other media related incidents.

[SgtM]

Originally Posted by fosking

I think as long as companies are staying within the law (copyright etc), then why not. As stated above, the majority of the money made will go straight back to his estate mainly through Sony. I'm sure he would be very happy to see all these sales and to be finally remembered for his music instead of other media related incidents.

Unfortunately, it's turning into another media related incident. Or media circus anyway. The news stations here can't stop. Everything you see, MJ MJ MJ MJ MJ.. And I'm stuck at work this weekend where we only have CNN and The Weather Channel. Three 12 hour shifts. IMO, let the guy rest. He may have been a little out there, but it's time to let it all go.

[fosking]

Originally Posted by SgtM

He may have been a little out there, but it's time to let it all go.

I think your right. I'm personally not a fan at all of Michael Jackson. The problem is he is just so famous around the world and so many people are interested in every little detail. It will probably be weeks before all this calms down.

[Harvez]

might be time to dust off them old 12" remixes and albums in the attic

[kevan321]

I don't think there's that much wrong with it. It does seem bad that so much will just go to the record companies etc, but he was just so famous that it would've seemed odd if there wasn't that much attention.

[claire80]

i dont think theres much wrong with cashing in as long as its not in an offensive way , people seeling t shirts etc well if people want to buy them why shouldnt someone sell them , i dont find that disrespectful at all .

hopefully his estate will make money from extra record sales etc and i presume the family etc will benefit from that .

when kurt cobain died everyone went nirvana mad , they made more money from his death than when the band were together , i cant see this with jacko as he was very very famous , but the point is there will be people that want to buy jacko related items even more so because he is dead , so why shouldnt people "cash in "

[barcelonic]

I dont see anything at all wrong with it. They wouldn't be selling things if people didnt want to buy them. And the people who want to buy them just want to show their respect and honour his memory.

What I dont think is OK is for one person to cash in whilst attacking someone else for cashing in. Jackson memorabilia auctioned online | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre
It is hypocrisy at its worst, and The Sun should be ashamed of themselves.

When somebody dies their families/friends like to remember them by buying a tombstone for their grave. Tombstones cost money and yet there's nothing wrong about the people who make and sell them. So I can't see how it is different to sell any other tributary products either.

[bmh16]

I can see both sides of the argument, but being the huge fan of him i am, i don't like to see people just cashing in on his death, but he is my favourite music artist (without a doubt) and the only music artist i really have got interested in and read a couple of books on. So i guess when you devote the time i have done to listening to his music and reading about him and also the excitement of going to his concerts it comes to no surprised that i feel really sad about the death and annoyance at these people cashing in

[barcelonic]

Originally Posted by bmh16

I can see both sides of the argument, but being the huge fan of him i am, i don't like to see people just cashing in on his death, but he is my favourite music artist (without a doubt) and the only music artist i really have got interested in and read a couple of books on. So i guess when you devote the time i have done to listening to his music and reading about him and also the excitement of going to his concerts it comes to no surprised that i feel really sad about the death and annoyance at these people cashing in

what do u think about my tombstone analogy? should funeral directors and the like shut shop and find another career?

also in the case of MJ do you think that the world should completely forget about him until his family have finished mourning? do you think that only his family and friends are entitled to mourn him or devoted fans like yourself are too?

[bmh16]

Originally Posted by barcelonic

what do u think about my tombstone analogy? should funeral directors and the like shut shop and find another career?

also in the case of MJ do you think that the world should completely forget about him until his family have finished mourning? do you think that only his family and friends are entitled to mourn him or devoted fans like yourself are too?

Mind you i know where you're getting at, it's just sad to have seen hours after his death people with t shirts saying RIP. I mean funeral directors are expected to be there, and people need them. You don't need those t shirts for example.

No though i'm chuffed to see his impact in the past couple of days. I just wished he was actually alive to witness it because it is truly phenomenal what's actually happening (iTunes charts, music channels etc.). More people are becoming fans of him, that's not a bad thing

[LiamGTR]

No, I would do exactly the same if I had a company.

People die everyday and its in the paper, yet when MJ dies and goes in the paper you all cry...

[barcelonic]

Originally Posted by bmh16

Mind you i know where you're getting at, it's just sad to have seen hours after his death people with t shirts saying RIP. I mean funeral directors are expected to be there, and people need them. You don't need those t shirts for example.

No though i'm chuffed to see his impact in the past couple of days. I just wished he was actually alive to witness it because it is truly phenomenal what's actually happening (iTunes charts, music channels etc.). More people are becoming fans of him, that's not a bad thing

something is either right or its wrong. you say its not a bad thing that more ppl are becoming fans, and yet that wouldnt be happening if people weren't cashing in.

you say we need tombstones but we dont need t-shirts commemorating MJ's death - but need and want are completely subjective. i would argue we dont need tombstones but we do want them. its the same with the shirts - you may not want to remember MJ that way but some ppl do and their opinions are no more or less valid than yours
which is why i say that something has to be either right or wrong. it cannot be wrong simply because you yourself would not buy such a shirt.

[bmh16]

Originally Posted by barcelonic

something is either right or its wrong. you say its not a bad thing that more ppl are becoming fans, and yet that wouldnt be happening if people weren't cashing in.

you say we need tombstones but we dont need t-shirts commemorating MJ's death - but need and want are completely subjective. i would argue we dont need tombstones but we do want them. its the same with the shirts - you may not want to remember MJ that way but some ppl do and their opinions are no more or less valid than yours
which is why i say that something has to be either right or wrong. it cannot be wrong simply because you yourself would not buy such a shirt.

What i was trying to say was i didn't like the immediate way people attempted to cash in, and whilst i know it's all like that (though albums are on sale all the time anyway so i could argue that case) having t shirts hours after a death is a bit distasteful i think.

Originally Posted by LiamGTR

No, I would do exactly the same if I had a company.

People die everyday and its in the paper, yet when MJ dies and goes in the paper you all cry...

You don't seem to realise the impact he had on people's lives. His music will be second to none for me and likewise for others too and other reasons like disappointment of never seeing the guy live, and just him never been around again, no new music (though i guess that's debatable now as like it with Elvis, 2Pac etc. it's expected to see quite a lot of music come out after the death (as there is a huge catalogue of songs known to have been recorded by MJ which haven't found their way into the public domain.

[Monkeyegg]

Ok let's throw something else into the debate.

Loads of people are currently searching the Internet for MJ and MJ-related goods. So, how would you feel if we added MJ items to FJ sites? I'm not saying we're doing this, this is just for debating purposes... I'm interested to know whether that would change opinions of the people who are saying it's bad to cash in - if you had the opportunity to cash in yourself, i.e. you could advertise the MJ items to gain referrals, would you not do it because you believe it's morally a bad thing? These are the decisions that businesses have to make.

Limited companies don't have morals, even if the people making the decisions do.

[kevan321]

Originally Posted by Monkeyegg

Ok let's throw something else into the debate.

Loads of people are currently searching the Internet for MJ and MJ-related goods. So, how would you feel if we added MJ items to FJ sites? I'm not saying we're doing this, this is just for debating purposes... I'm interested to know whether that would change opinions of the people who are saying it's bad to cash in - if you had the opportunity to cash in yourself, i.e. you could advertise the MJ items to gain referrals, would you not do it because you believe it's morally a bad thing? These are the decisions that businesses have to make.

Limited companies don't have morals, even if the people making the decisions do.

See, it's weird, I'd be really against it, and it'd probs change my opinion of you guys. Even though I don't have a problem with the newspapers etc making money off it.

Can't explain why, it'd just seem wrong to me.

[bmh16]

Originally Posted by kevan321

See, it's weird, I'd be really against it, and it'd probs change my opinion of you guys. Even though I don't have a problem with the newspapers etc making money off it.

Can't explain why, it'd just seem wrong to me.

Ditto this. I would probably change my links to Kudos

[barcelonic]

Originally Posted by bmh16

What i was trying to say was i didn't like the immediate way people attempted to cash in, and whilst i know it's all like that (though albums are on sale all the time anyway so i could argue that case) having t shirts hours after a death is a bit distasteful i think.


You don't seem to realise the impact he had on people's lives. His music will be second to none for me and likewise for others too and other reasons like disappointment of never seeing the guy live, and just him never been around again, no new music (though i guess that's debatable now as like it with Elvis, 2Pac etc. it's expected to see quite a lot of music come out after the death (as there is a huge catalogue of songs known to have been recorded by MJ which haven't found their way into the public domain.

again, somethings either wrong or its right. i dont see how the timing, the prices, the type of product or anything else comes into it. if people want to be wearing those shirts asap then they have to order them quick because it'll take time to be delivered.

Originally Posted by kevan321

Can't explain why, it'd just seem wrong to me.

Ben, this comment from Kevan has hit your nail on the head i believe. Sometimes how we feel emotionally about someone or something can override reasoning, because you said you were chuffed to see the impact MJ's death has had on the world, but that impact is largely newspapers, retailers etc.. cashing in. The term cashing in itself is synonymous with coldhearted profiteering, and so its easy to convince people its wrong to do so, but i dont see myself how it can be perfectly acceptable to sell the shirts a week after he has died and yet its so very very wrong to sell them hours after his death.

[Monkeyegg]

Originally Posted by kevan321

See, it's weird, I'd be really against it, and it'd probs change my opinion of you guys. Even though I don't have a problem with the newspapers etc making money off it.

Can't explain why, it'd just seem wrong to me.

Originally Posted by bmh16

Ditto this. I would probably change my links to Kudos

lol, see I agree and I wouldn't want to do it... which means although I feel like I sit on the fence with the issue of whether it's bad for companies to cash in, in reality I obviously am against it else why would I feel it would be so wrong for us to jump on that bandwagon.

I meant in terms of if YOU had the opportunity to cash in though, and it sounds like you wouldn't. Therefore you must think it's wrong for others to do it, whther it be newspapers, t-shirt makers etc.

It must be weird for the people who actually knew and loved him, to see such outpouring of grief from the general public for someone that they didn't actually know.

[bmh16]

Originally Posted by barcelonic

again, somethings either wrong or its right. i dont see how the timing, the prices, the type of product or anything else comes into it. if people want to be wearing those shirts asap then they have to order them quick because it'll take time to be delivered.



Ben, this comment from Kevan has hit your nail on the head i believe. Sometimes how we feel emotionally about someone or something can override reasoning, because you said you were chuffed to see the impact MJ's death has had on the world, but that impact is largely newspapers, retailers etc.. cashing in. The term cashing in itself is synonymous with coldhearted profiteering, and so its easy to convince people its wrong to do so, but i dont see myself how it can be perfectly acceptable to sell the shirts a week after he has died and yet its so very very wrong to sell them hours after his death.

But that's the thing, when you see your favourite artist being almost exploited because of a death it isn't going to be looked upon well because of course you're going to emotions which will cause this. A few hours after a death making t shirts having them up on ebay is just tasteless for me. The News and Newspapers aren't not going to report on news ultimately, and everyone expects all News to be reported then - as long as it's true i don't care but hypocritical things like what the Sun reported will annoy me.

Ultimately I'm not the only one to feel like this, there will be so many Jackson fans who think the same, so it's not like its 1 opinion, but an opinion held by a lot of people!

Originally Posted by Monkeyegg

lol, see I agree and I wouldn't want to do it... which means although I feel like I sit on the fence with the issue of whether it's bad for companies to cash in, in reality I obviously am against it else why would I feel it would be so wrong for us to jump on that bandwagon.

I meant in terms of if YOU had the opportunity to cash in though, and it sounds like you wouldn't. Therefore you must think it's wrong for others to do it, whther it be newspapers, t-shirt makers etc.

It must be weird for the people who actually knew and loved him, to see such outpouring of grief from the general public for someone that they didn't actually know.

Well anyone who sees someone trying to cash in something they hold highly i feel would feel the same on the issue as it would be seen as distasteful and trying to get money out of an exploitation of a death. Custom Orders are there for a reason too so it's not like it would matter!