Tucked within Billboard’s exhaustive new report, “How Michael Jackson Made $1 Billion Since His Death” — which runs through the specifics of MJ’s music sales, new licensing and catalogue deals, and the international box-office success of the concert movie This Is It — is this startling detail: “Despite being canceled, the 50-show This Is It tour at London’s O2 paid big dividends. Revenue from tickets retained by fans as souvenirs and not refunded brought in an estimated $6.5 million.” $6.5 million! From shows that never took place! Seriously, when’s that ever going to happen again? [Billboard]
