Client Profile: Michael Jackson – A Legacy

February 25, 2021 musroyaltycon

Parviz Omidvar’s reputation for fair dealing and Rolls-Royce quality customer service grew such that in 2001 he received a call out-of-the-blue, and the soft-spoken voice on the other end of the line identified himself as Michael Jackson. He requested a meeting, and shortly after, Parviz Omidvar found himself in a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, face-to-face with one of the best selling artists of all time.

In 1988, even before he started Music Royalty Consulting, Inc., Parviz Omidvar became one of the pioneers of launching music catalogues into the financial world. Specifically, he was one of the founders of the idea of tapping into music royalties to provide songwriters, artists, and music royalty recipients with advances and immediate access to liquidity.

During their conversation in 2001, Michael Jackson painted an unexpected picture of life behind the scenes of a legendary star. Having grown up in the entertainment industry and in the public eye from a young age, he rarely had control over certain aspects of his life. An entire machine had been built around him, and he found himself not in the driver’s seat. At times he didn’t know what songs he would be performing, or even where, until just before a concert. But once onstage, he was free and made all the creative decisions that went into his magnetic and gripping performances.

However, even though he was a superstar selling out venues around the world, and earning at least six-digit BMI payments; he did not have enough cash for his investments and own business decisions. If he wanted to invest, he had to ask “the machine”. The bars may have been gold, but he felt like he was still in a cage. He wanted to take a measure of financial control of his life to make investments, and so he went to Parviz Omidvar.

He had approached banks regarding loans—and was required to jump through hoops and to provide extensive and virtually impossible documents on his music career. But as fortune had it, Michael Jackson had heard of Parviz Omidvar and his reputation for customer service, understanding of the music business, and easy and simple application process.

In Parviz Omidvar’s mind, there was no question. “Of course!”,  he responded to his request for music royalty financing. A couple of signed documents later, a surprised and grateful Michael was set up with a ten million dollar line of credit against future royalties, with advances and loans available anytime.

“You treated me like a king!”,  Parviz Omidvar remembers him saying.

“It was totally unnecessary to make him jump through any hoops. Having a heart and a good name is all that matters to me, and I treat everyone the same way.”

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