CROOKS OR ANGELS
I have nothing good to say about many of the so-called managers of superstars. I despise those that would take advantage of their clients instead of doing the right thing more often than not. I am familiar with quite a few of them as to how they operate. As a result, it is easy to make an accusation or give praise where applicable.
First of all, a manager of a superstar must not be involved in a “Monkey Business”. Unfortunately, some even go further and give the impression as if the operation is part of a “Crime Syndicate”. I am not a lawyer. Hence, I wonder why RICO would not apply in these cases. FYI: The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law.
RICO provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. As to how a crime may occur, I have an argument. If a superstar, that was worth tens or hundreds of million dollars one day and broke another, a crime must have occured. Especially when it took place incrementally, not like a bank robbery.
Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse are two victims that fit the bill: They died prematurely and their suffering took place for considerably long periods of time. At the end, they were also robbed of their lives besides their wealth early on. The unravelling of MJ’s reputation began in 1993. He died at 50, fifteen years later in 2009. Amy entered into the “27 Club” in 2011, after five years of troubling life since 2006.
So-Called Managers of Superstars
When it comes to the managers of superstars, there is a very thin line between a crook and an angel. Unfortunately, for superstars it takes a “lifetime” to see the difference. More often than not, by the time they notice it, it is already too late. They lose their fortune, and their health deteriorates rapidly as well. As a result, however long they stay alive becomes their luck.
The problem starts when mom and pop managers fall apart with their superstar kids. Over time, the fledgling superstars tend to replace their mom and pop managers believing they are no more “their Angels”. Unfortunately, they replace them with crooks, never realizing that they will never become half the Angels that their parents were once.
The irony that escapes novice stars is that the so-called managers of superstars are nowhere to be found until they become one. Unfortunately, “scavengers” will strike only after a star acquires enough fame and fortune. In other words, the so-called managers of superstars become the ultimate beneficiaries in the “Catch-22” at the expense of superstars.
All the while, the true “Angels” of the superstars become the “villains” in this wicked turn around. Michael Jackson, for example, could have become and remained a billionaire, perhaps. Ironically, Amy Winehouse could have, perhaps, lived longer and got richer. Unfortunately, life is not that simple. Furthermore, the so-called managers of superstars are not the only ones to blame.
Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse
Both Michael and Amy began their career with their mom-and-pop managers. In Michael’s case, pros took over soon after his “Thriller Album” deal went through. After that, MJ was in their hands, literally and physically. Amy basically remained a tug of war between her father and her husband. Her tragic passing, alone in a London apartment, intoxicated, reflected her reality.
We spent enough private time with either superstar to understand what exactly transpired. With Michael, it was the last ten years of his life. With Amy, it was the last three. Michael became part of our television show. It aired in 53 countries. One in five in the world watched it, making it a “television spectacle” like no other in the world as far as ratings are concerned.
Daphne Barak and Elisabeth Murdoch produced it together and I was part of the project. After Daphne penned “My Diary with Amy Winehouse” in the Sunday Times and then the best selling book “Saving Amy”, we did not see her. Though Daphne kept communication channels open with Amy, she was totally in the hands of handlers until her passing.
So-Called Managers of Superstars
What Changed?
It has been more than a decade since Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse passed. Nothing changed. If anything more superstars pass, abusing Opioids and the likes. There is no shortage of the supply, neither the evil nor the superstars. Surely, MJ and Amy are not the only two superstars we have been involved with over the past decade.
Yet, for us the extent of the work is important. The amount of original content we accumulated on MJ or Amy were extensive. As a result, when we released the work, the evidence was conclusive and the truth was finally out. Soon there may be yet another revelation. If it is involving another superstar or not, only time would tell also the format!
After all, the name of the game with these so-called managers of superstars is not only the “Catch-22” that they know how to play. There is another game that they are not as savvy. No, it is not “Cat and Mouse”. Nor is it a “Zero Sum Game”. However, “Chicken Game” sounds more like their alley! Even then, they don’t make formidable challengers.
To my mind, “when push comes to shove” they will be the first to leave. So much so, recently we made a critical decision and acted on it. As a result, our commitment forced others to deviate from their course. Consequently, now comes our final act to put an end to this fiasco as well. Like we did before numerous times when we had to deal with the so-called mightiests of them all.
Now Comes The Final Act
So then, when, where, and how the final act would come?
Better yet, the first thing is first.
Who is the superstar or the power to be at hand, and what is the format?
For that, everyone has to have little bit more patience.
