Michael Jackson’s death may set off a rush for refunds by some of the hundreds of thousands of fans who bought tickets to “This Is It,” the performer’s run of 50 sold-out shows in London.
Jackson, 50, probably suffered cardiac arrest at his Bel- Air mansion on June 25, UCLA Medical Center said. His performances at the more-than 20,000-seat O2 arena, set to begin July 13, were expected to generate revenue of as much as $150 million from ticket sales, concessions and merchandise, Billboard magazine and Goldman Sachs Group analyst Mark Wienkes estimated.
AEG Live said on its Web site that full refund information and procedures will be released early next week. The promoter advised fans to “hold onto their ticket vouchers/proof of purchase.” At least one insurer at Lloyd’s of London and a unit of Allianz SE are among those that issued policies for the promoter and ticket sellers.
“Most pre-existing conditions wouldn’t be covered in a standard insurance contract,” Duncan Fraser, a London-based partner at insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc. “Similarly, if someone dies from anything self-inflicted, like drugs or alcohol, that won’t be covered.”
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office conducted a three- hour autopsy on the body yesterday, without releasing a cause of death. Officials said they will await test results that may take six to eight weeks. The coroner investigates when there is no death certificate signed by a doctor, said Amanda Betat, a police spokeswoman.
The physician with Jackson at the time of his collapse, identified as Conrad Murray by the Los Angeles Times, was questioned by police and isn’t under criminal suspicion at this time, the Associated Press reported. He had been hired to look after Jackson by AEG Live, the newspaper said.
Jackson’s death disappointed hundreds of thousands of people in London and across the world who had planned on attending the concerts.
“It would have been a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Nick Stellmacher, who had ordered four tickets. “Obviously nobody thought he would die.”
Ticketmaster’s Web site acknowledged Jackson’s passing and says “more information about refunds will follow.” Hannah Kampf, a spokeswoman for West Hollywood, California-based Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc., didn’t immediately respond to a telephone call and e-mail.
AEG paid Jackson $20 million in advance, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The promoter spent another $10 million staging rehearsals in the Los Angeles area, the Journal said.
The company may ask Jackson’s estate to repay the advance and may seek reimbursement of rehearsal costs from insurers, said the Journal, citing unidentified people familiar the plans.
Note: The promoter of the “This Is It” Tour is AEG Live, which like The Examiner, is a subsidiary of the Anschutz Company.
