Michael Jackson Sells Out 50 Shows

As staggering as it is to believe, Michael Jackson is still an extraordinary draw. The demand for tickets to his "This Is It" run of shows at the O2 Arena in London has been so high that the original 10 night schedule has expanded to 50 shows - which all sold out within hours. To put this in perspective, the Allman Brothers current residency at the Beacon Theater is only 15 nights and the previous record for this type of sellout was Prince's 21 night run at the O2 in 2007.

Unlike most true residencies, it is improbable that Jackson will change the setlists each night or that the performance on night 1 will differ greatly from night 50. This seems more akin to a "Michael Jackson On Broadway" extravaganza than it does to a true rock and roll event. If rumors of Jackson's financial condition have some basis in truth, this couldn't have happened at a better time and could also answer the question of "Why now?" It is estimated that Jackson will make anywhere from $50 million to $100 million for his efforts.

The Jackson shows have also shone a harsh light of the deplorable dealings that result in tickets appearing on the secondary market. Remember when we just called these people what they were: ticket scalpers. The Wall Street Journal recently outed the practice of artists setting aside prime seats for resale on the "secondary market" and it appears Jackson and his promoter AEG Live cut a deal with Viagogo to do just that for the O2 shows. Rather than sell to the public, Viagogo turned around and sold the prime seats to other brokers, creating a tertiary market . . . and pissing of AEG Live in the process. With Viagogo, not AEG Live/Jackson, getting the benefits of the even larger markup, it's not surprising that injunctions have resulted.

As for the potential quality of the shows, allow the skeptic in me to come through: Jackson hasn't been on tour since the mid-to-late Nineties and his stage appearances over the last decade have been sporadic; by all accounts, the 50-year-old singer is pretty frail and all boasting in "Bad" to the contrary, Jackson was never that hale and hearty of a fellow to begin with. Jackson is undoubtedly and icon but his personal life, transparent excuses for questionable behavior and general lunacy have also made him a punchline. Based upon the success of the O2 run, which will end in February of 2010, he will have firmly entrenched himself as one or the other.