Connect with us

Cascio Tracks

EXCLUSIVE: Forensic Report Concludes Voice on Allegedly Fake Songs is NOT Michael Jackson

Published

on

Share Button
The vocalist on three allegedly fake Michael Jackson tracks sang in the wrong dialect, was unable to control fundamental aspects of his singing voice including vibrato, and even mispronounced Jackson’s name according to a bombshell expert report.

The 41-page report, obtained exclusively by DamienShields.com, was compiled by forensic audiologist Dr. George Papcun, who put the vocals under the microscope and reached the disturbing conclusion that the tracks were fakes, sung by an impostor – a conclusion which laid the foundation for a class action consumer fraud lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by Jackson fan Vera Serova in June 2014, alleges that three songs released on the Michael album in December 2010  – “Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up” – are forgeries.

The Estate of Michael Jackson acquired the tracks in question – known as the ‘Cascio tracks’ – as part of a collection of 12 unreleased songs produced by the pop star’s longtime friend Eddie Cascio and his collaborative partner James Porte. The two men claim Jackson recorded the tracks in Cascio’s basement in the fall of 2007.

Prior to their release in 2010, several members of the Jackson family warned Sony and the Estate that the vocals on the Cascio tracks weren’t Michael’s. Upon their release, thousands of Jackson’s fans agreed, rejecting the tracks as fakes.

In response, Sony and the Estate asserted and reiterated their “complete confidence” in the authenticity of the vocals. The matter remains a point of contention.

Dr. Papcun’s 41-page report was the result of several months of careful scientific comparison between Jackson’s known and undisputed recordings and the Cascio tracks.

Papcun’s goal: to accept or reject the hypothesis the Cascio tracks were sung by Jackson.

When engaging Dr. Papcun, Serova did not specify which side of the fence she was on – just that questions had been raised regarding the vocal authenticity, and that she wanted his expert opinion in her quest for the truth.

Dr Papcun email to Vera

Papcun’s report uses a combination of three analytical approaches.

Firstly, the expert looked at the dialect of the vocalist on the Cascio tracks, comparing the pronunciation of certain words with audio of Jackson singing the same words throughout four decades of legitimate recordings. Interestingly, Dr. Papcun found the dialect in the Cascio tracks to be more consistent with Jason Malachi – the sound-alike alleged by many to be the actual singer of the Cascio songs – than with Jackson.

Dr. Papcun identified that the vocalist on the Cascio tracks had a ‘glottal stop’ – meaning they did not pronounce Ts in the middle of some words. In his report, Dr. Papcun showed that the vocalist of the Cascio track vocalist sings the word “waiting” as “wai’in” – something Papcun said Jackson never did:

“A review of Jackson’s recordings over his entire career, spanning 39 years, shows that he does not use the glottal stop allophone in this position. By contrast, the singer Jason Malachi uses the glottal stop routinely in this position. The glottal stop allophone in this position is characteristic of the speech of Brooklyn, New York. Quoting Malachi’s bio: “I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland; however, my family is originally from Brooklyn, New York.” Assuming he learned to talk from his parents, or at least was influenced by them, the glottal stop in this position would be expected from him. However that may be, the fact is he uses it, whereas Michael Jackson does not.”

According to the report, the vocalist of the Cascio tracks also fails to pronounce the name “Jackson” correctly.

In “Breaking News,” the vocalist repeatedly sings the name ‘Michael Jackson’ – but Dr Papcun compared the recording with Jackson’s pronunciation of his own name in clips spanning 20 years, from 1983 to 2003, and found no match:

“The pronunciation of the name “Jackson” in Breaking News (as [sEn]) differs from the pronunciations of “Jackson” as spoken by Michael Jackson in interviews over many years.”

Next, Dr. Papcun’s report examines vibrato characteristics. In singing, vibrato is the pulsating change of pitch that occurs at the end of a note through variations in the larynx.

Using the Cascio track “Breaking News” in visual demonstrations, Dr. Papcun compares vibrato on the Cascio tracks to known Jackson recordings.

Again, Dr. Papcun found no consistencies between the vibrato on the Cascio tracks and known Jackson recordings. But as with the dialect, Papcun did note that the vibrato frequency in the Cascio tracks is more consistent with that of Jason Malachi. He states:

“Acoustic analysis shows that the vibrato in Breaking News is faster than the vibrato in a sample of Jackson recordings. Moreover, the vibrato in a sample of known Jackson recordings is smoother and more closely adheres to the note being sung. The vibrato in a sample of Malachi recordings as well as the vibrato in Breaking News is more frequent than the vibrato in known Jackson recordings.”

While Jason Malachi did not respond to my request for comment on this matter, it should be noted that earlier this year his involvement was confirmed by his own lawyer.

In his report, Dr. Papcun notes that the curves in Jackson’s vibrato are “dramatically smoother” than the curves in the Cascio tracks. He also notes that they are “much better and more consistently sustained,” adding that Jackson’s vibrato rate is “essentially what is regarded as ideal according to prior music commentary.”

Finally, the report highlights significant statistical difference of vibrato usage in the middle of the song lines and on line endings between undisputed Jackson recordings and the Cascio tracks.

Pattern changes and midline vibtato

Additional key statistic drawn from this analysis include:

  • The singer of the Cascio tracks uses vibrato 100% the time, on each and every song. However, in 22% of the Jackson recordings analysed, the King of Pop does do NOT use vibrato at all during verses.
  • The singer of the Cascio tracks changes his vibrato pattern a whopping 83% of the time, while Jackson’s vibrato pattern changes only 9% of the time.
  • The singer of the Cascio tracks uses vibrato in the middle of a line 58% of the time. Again, Jackson only does this in 9% of the known and undisputed recordings that were analysed.

Citing the differences in dialect, vibrato, tremolo and vocal control on the Cascio tracks, Dr. Papcun rejected the hypothesis that Jackson was the vocalist.

It should be noted that when the Jackson family first raised concerns regarding the vocals on the Cascio tracks back in 2010, attorney Howard Weitzman claimed that both the Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music had hired their own independent forensic experts to authenticate the vocals.

However, neither the names nor credentials of their experts – or their written conclusions – have ever been made public. Mr. Weitzman did not respond to my request for a copy of the Estate’s expert report, which I had hoped to publish in this article.

In a written statement published on the 11th of November 2010, Weitzman said that one of those forensic experts had performed ‘waveform analysis’ during their authentication, and had concluded that the vocals were indeed Michael’s.

In response, Dr. Papcun asserted that the analyses he performed were “much more detailed and accurate than waveform analysis.”

Click here to check out Dr. Papcun’s report for yourself.

Dr Papcun has worked for the CIA, the National Security Agency and the US Secret Service. He also served as an audio expert in high profile cases including the Rodney King beating, the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey and the Patty Hearst kidnapping.

His specialisms include checking whether audio has been manipulated, proving the identities of suspects through speech analysis, and helping to organise ‘voice line-ups’ in criminal cases.


Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.
TheVault-DSBanner

Share Button
25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. Debbie

    September 5, 2018 at 8:19 pm

    Great piece Damien, can’t wait for the rest!

  2. Adriana

    September 18, 2018 at 9:58 pm

    Llegue a este articulo a través de la información brindada por los chicos del Podcast MJRadio en español. Agradezco infinitamente tu trabajo, tus libros, tus noticias tan acertadas y confiables. Leí tu libro y realmente me emociono y educó a la vez. Mil gracias

  3. Erick

    December 21, 2018 at 7:56 am

    That court ruling is RI-DIC-U-LOUS , how, how is it fair and law abiding to intentionally, unequivocally lie and mislead consumers? I am more and more shocked by the laws and norms of this world every single day.

  4. aplicativo de gestão de equipes externas

    September 26, 2020 at 2:22 am

    TMS é uma Solução de Gestão de Transporte.

  5. Telecasterseq

    December 30, 2020 at 2:43 am

    European glory, and even after

  6. Fenderebu

    December 31, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    , text and illustrations to which

  7. Minelabzrt

    January 5, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    handwritten books were made,

  8. Garminzxdf

    January 6, 2021 at 6:40 am

    55 thousand Greek, 30 thousand Armenian

  9. Marshallyst

    January 6, 2021 at 7:12 am

    Since the era of Charlemagne

  10. Sunburstufq

    January 26, 2021 at 7:46 am

    term manuscript (late lat.manuscriptum,

  11. Clamcasebds

    January 31, 2021 at 7:08 pm

    from a printed book, reproduction

  12. Squierrbn

    February 4, 2021 at 11:19 pm

    the spread of parchment.

  13. Feedervve

    February 27, 2021 at 11:21 pm

    Since the era of Charlemagne

  14. Broncoqtg

    March 1, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Since the era of Charlemagne

  15. Candysli

    March 14, 2021 at 6:34 pm

    Europe, and in Ancient Russia

  16. Artisanzmj

    April 11, 2021 at 6:59 am

    “Julia’s Garland” (fr. Guirlande de Julie)

  17. Zodiacjtt

    April 12, 2021 at 12:32 am

    handwritten books were made,

  18. Carpetfzh

    June 4, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    European glory, and even after

  19. Zodiacvnb

    June 7, 2021 at 6:17 pm

    bride, Julie d’Angenne.

  20. Blendergxm

    June 18, 2021 at 12:21 pm

    among them acquired “Moral

  21. Scannerbvo

    July 11, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    Western Europe also formed

  22. Incipioqru

    December 7, 2021 at 3:16 am

    “Julia’s Garland” (fr. Guirlande de Julie)

  23. Blenderjqd

    July 18, 2022 at 5:24 pm

    consists of the book itself

  24. Humminbirdnxv

    July 19, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    (palimpsests). In the XIII-XV centuries in

  25. Rubbereif

    July 26, 2022 at 8:53 pm

    Century to a kind of destruction:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cascio Tracks

Producer Teddy Riley Comes Clean Regarding Fake Songs From Posthumous Michael Jackson Album

Published

on

Share Button
Legendary producer Teddy Riley has spoken out against the controversial Michael Jackson album he worked on after the pop star’s death, claiming that he believes some of the tracks he was asked to remix for the project are fakes, but that he was “pushed” to say they were authentic.

“I just hope that the truth comes to light because it was never proven to me that it was Michael’s voice,” said Riley in a bombshell video published today by hard-hitting pop culture interviewer DJ Vlad for Vlad TV.

The songs in question, known as the Cascio tracks, were provided to Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson by the pop star’s longtime friend Eddie Cascio and his collaborative partner James Porte.

Cascio and Porte claim that Jackson recorded 12 songs in Cascio’s basement shortly before his death. Three of those songs – “Keep Your Head Up,” “Breaking News” and “Monster” – were included on the Michael album in December 2010.

Riley, who worked extensively with Jackson throughout his life, remixed “Breaking News” and “Monster” for the posthumous project.

Initially, Jackson’s family gave Riley their blessing to work on the project. Michael’s nephew, Taryll Jackson, even joined Riley in the studio.

But upon hearing the Cascio tracks, Taryll believed the vocals were sung by an impostor.

When the rest of the Jackson family heard them, they felt the same way, taking to social media to denounce the Cascio tracks as fakes.

Amidst all the controversy, Riley and Cascio appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s talkshow, where they both insisted the vocals were the real deal.

But when interviewer DJ Vlad asked Riley about it, the producer made the explosive claim that he was forced to say the vocals were authentic:

“I was influenced and pushed to say the things that were said.”

The producer went on to explain that he initially demanded proof regarding the authenticity of the vocals, but that no such proof was ever presented.

“They would not prove it to me,” says Riley.

Riley also says that Jackson’s nephew, Taryll, encouraged him to distance himself from the tracks, but that Riley felt too intimidated by those in control of the project to do so.

“I felt I was dealing with some high, powerful people. And I didn’t want no problems at all.”

Riley explains that his decision to continue working on the Cascio tracks ultimately cost him his friendship with Taryll.

“I was like, Taryll, I already got paid. What do you expect me to do? And he stopped speaking to me for a while. And I was like damn, I lost my friend over this.”

Riley said that to be involved in another Michael Jackson project in the future, he would need proof that the vocals were authentic, and for the Jackson family to be on board and involved.

“[Michael] is their family. This is their brother, their son, their uncle,” said Teddy.

“I will not move until I have their blessing. But this time I want a real blessing. I’m not talking about money. I want a real blessing from the family.”

Riley also took the opportunity to apologise to fellow producer Quincy Jones.

During the interview, DJ Vlad reminded Riley that back in 2010, Riley accused Jones of being too old to know the difference between the real Michael Jackson and a fake Michael Jackson.

“My apologies, my apologies,” said Riley to Jones in the video. “I always wanted to say that, because Quincy is someone I look up to… He’s a guy that I worship as my idol.”

Riley’s interview with Vlad TV comes just months after Sony Music and the Michael Jackson Estate abandoned the Cascio tracks.

As part of the settlement of a consumer fraud lawsuit filed against them over the Michael album, Jackson’s estate and Sony removed the three commercially-released Cascio tracks – “Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up” – from streaming platforms around the world.

The corporations have also re-pressed the physical CD of the Michael album without the Cascio tracks, and are now selling the amended version via the official Michael Jackson shop online.

For those of you who are interested, a podcast series called Faking Michael, detailing the findings of my 12-year investigation of the Cascio tracks, is currently in production. Subscribe via Apple PodcastsSpotify or YouTube to be notified when episodes are released.


Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.
TheVault-DSBanner

Share Button
Continue Reading

Cascio Tracks

Huge Win for Michael Jackson Fan as Supreme Court Rejects Sony’s Free Speech Defense in “Fake” Songs Lawsuit

Published

on

Share Button
Two ‘get out of jail free’ cards, used by lawyers for Sony to avoid facing the music in a consumer fraud lawsuit, were ripped to shreds by the California Supreme Court on Thursday last week.

As part of their ruling, the court determined that the description on a posthumous Michael Jackson album cover was indeed commercial speech — not free speech, as lawyers for Sony and Jackson’s estate had argued — and that consumers have a case if false or misleading statements were made in the description.

The unanimous ruling sets an important precedent for the protection of California consumers in cases of alleged fraud moving forward.

This case

The controversy centers around an album titled Michael, released 18 months after Michael Jackson’s death by his estate and Sony Music Entertainment.

Prior to the album’s December 2010 release, members of Jackson’s family claimed that three songs on Michael  — “Breaking News,” “Keep Your Head Up” and “Monster” — were fakes, with vocals sung by a Jackson impersonator.

But Sony and Jackson’s estate insisted the songs, which they acquired from the pop star’s friend Eddie Cascio and his collaborative partner James Porte, were the real deal.

The songs are known as the ‘Cascio tracks’.

In response to the controversy, Estate attorney Howard Weitzman said he’d conducted an “exhaustive investigation” during which a host of Jackson’s former producers had listened to the Cascio tracks and confirmed that the vocals were “definitely Michael”. 

But several of those producers dispute Weitzman’s version of events. You’ll hear their stories in an upcoming podcast series called Faking Michael.

Nevertheless, based on the purported findings of Weitzman’s investigation, Sony asserted their “complete confidence” in the authenticity of the Cascio tracks.

With the authenticity a matter of conjecture, fan Vera Serova relied on Sony and the Estate’s assurances — that the tracks on Michael were indeed sung by Jackson — when she decided to buy the album.

Further convincing Serova to hand over her money was the product description printed on the reverse side of the album cover. It stipulated that the vocals were “performed by Michael Jackson”.

But as evidence contradicting the official story emerged, Serova began to believe she’d been duped.

And so she hired a world-renowned forensic audiologist, who conducted a groundbreaking scientific examination of the vocals on the Cascio tracks. His opinion: the vocals weren’t Michael’s.

That forensic examination was the catalyst for what became an eight-year David versus Goliath legal battle, culminating in Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling.

Corporations can’t sell fake art as the real deal

“Relief has long been available in California to unwitting purchasers of imitation art who relied on false representations about authenticity” said the court in their 45-page opinion. 

“If Sony’s assertion that Jackson contributed lead vocals affects consumers’ experience of Michael, this illustrates how misrepresentations about an artist’s contributions can harm consumers in ways that matter to them.”

Executive director of the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice, Ted Mermin, who supported Serova in her battle with Sony, said:

“If we are buying an album that is marketed as being the songs of Michael Jackson, it had better have the songs of Michael Jackson.”

As well as setting an important legal precedent protecting California consumers, the court’s ruling inadvertently protects artists. 

Based on the ruling, there is no plausible excuse for falsely attributing fake works to famous artists. This puts songs on par with paintings and sculptures when it comes to outlawing art forgery.

The ruling is a huge win for creatives, whose reputation — and therefore livelihood and legacy — could be at stake if corporations were free to commercially exploit pastiches under their name.

“Misleading attributions on a record jacket might not only confuse consumers […] but also harm a performer’s reputation,” the court’s ruling states.

But what happens if a corporation sells a forgery without knowing it’s a forgery? This was also covered in the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Sony’s ‘lack of knowledge’ defense

Sony’s purported ‘lack of knowledge’ was raised by the corporation itself in a 2016 petition to be removed from Serova’s lawsuit.

At the time, lawyers for Sony and the Estate volunteered to argue their case based on the notion that the Cascio tracks were fakes, but that they ‘didn’t know’ at the time they released them back in 2010.

It should be made clear that this wasn’t an ‘admission’ that the Cascio tracks are indeed fake. Rather, it was their way of arguing that ‘even if’ the tracks are fake, they’ve done nothing wrong by selling them to fans as authentic Jackson material.

In a December 2016 trial court hearing, attorney Zia Modabber argued that to be liable for misleading consumers, Sony and the Estate had to know the songs were fake, adding that Cascio and Porte had “failed to disclose to Sony or the Estate that Michael Jackson did not provide the lead vocals.”

But the judge overseeing that hearing didn’t take kindly to Sony’s position, saying:

“I think what [Modabber] is saying here is. ‘We were duped… We didn’t know [Cascio and Porte] were recording stuff in a basement that wasn’t recorded by Michael. [Cascio and Porte] told us it was Michael. We believed it was Michael.’”

The judge accused Sony of throwing Cascio and Porte under the bus before ruling in Serova’s favour, ordering Sony to face the music. 

But Sony appealed, and in 2018 the appeals court took Sony’s side, dismissing the corporation from the lawsuit. 

Serova then challenged the decision to dismiss Sony, petitioning the California Supreme Court to intervene, which they did.

That, in a nutshell, is how we got to Thursday’s ruling — arguments for which were heard by the court on May 24, 2022.

During that May 24 hearing, Modabber again argued that Sony couldn’t be held accountable because they didn’t know the vocals were bogus when they released them in 2010.

But on Thursday, the court rejected Sony’s lack of knowledge defense once and for all, stating that if ignoring evidence was all a corporation had to do to get away with fraud, false advertising laws would be redundant.

“If ignorance around a product’s authenticity were a legitimate defense against false advertising claims, sellers would be incentivized to know as little as possible about their own products,” said the court in their ruling.

“Sellers making claims about their offerings surely do not avoid false advertising regulation […] by scrupulously declining to verify those claims or to acquire knowledge.”

Jeremy Bollinger, one of the attorneys representing Serova, told the LA Times that the court’s ruling was not only a victory for his client, but for all music and art consumers.

“The decision confirmed that it doesn’t matter whether the seller has personal knowledge of the veracity of its statements about its products,” Bollinger said. “If you’re going to sell something, you’re responsible for those representations.”

If they didn’t know in 2010, they knew by 2018

As we discussed earlier: back in 2010, before the Michael album was released, questions were raised regarding the authenticity of the Cascio tracks. 

At that time, several people told Estate attorney Howard Weitzman that they did not believe the vocalist was Michael. They alleged it was another singer, named Jason Malachi.

In response, Estate attorney Howard Weitzman claimed that he spoke to Malachi and confirmed that he wasn’t involved. 

But when fans heard the Cascio tracks, many identified Malachi’s voice — not Jackson’s — on the tracks.

Further validating the reaction of fans was Malachi’s longtime producer, Tony Kurtis. In a barrage of comments posted via YouTube, Kurtis stated that he knew “without a doubt” that Malachi was the vocalist.

Even the aforementioned audiologist noted in his forensic report that the dialect and vibrato of the Cascio vocalist were consistent with Malachi, but not with Jackson.

Then, in early 2018, Malachi hired a lawyer. 

That lawyer then contacted Vera Serova’s legal team to discuss Malachi’s involvement with the Cascio tracks.

Serova and her lawyers claim that Malachi’s lawyer said that his client wanted to help resolve Serova’s litigation with Sony — and to get paid for his involvement.

A meeting between Malachi’s lawyer, Serova’s lawyers and lawyers for Sony and the Estate was arranged.

But according to Serova’s lawyers, the day before the meeting was set to take place, Sony and the Estate cancelled it, and communications with Malachi’s lawyer came to an abrupt end.

For the four years that followed Malachi’s attempted intervention, Sony and the Estate continued to argue their ‘lack of knowledge’ defense, while also continuing to commercially exploit the Cascio tracks as authentic Jackson recordings.

Calls and emails to Malachi and his lawyer — offering them the right of reply — were not returned.

Why don’t Sony and the Estate sue Cascio and Porte for fraud?

In their 45-page ruling, the California Supreme Court supposed that if the Cascio tracks are indeed fake, Sony and the Estate would want to file a fraud action against Cascio and Porte for duping them, stating:

“Presumably, Sony would seek to invoke any warranties, or assert fraud or other claims, against Cascio and his associates if it believed they peddled fake recordings.”

But in this case, it’s the exact opposite.

In fact, Sony and the Estate have stood firmly behind Cascio and Porte since 2010, regardless of the overwhelming evidence and public outcry against them — something that no one, including Jackson’s family, fans and former collaborators can understand.

Songs removed, case closed

In a somewhat anticlimactic end to their eight-year legal battle, just days before the Supreme Court issued its ruling, Sony and the Estate reached a settlement agreement with Serova.

As part of the settlement, Sony and the Estate were forced to remove the Cascio tracks from digital retailers and streaming platforms around the world.

Based on Serova’s statements over the years, it was clear that no settlement could have been reached without this demand being met.

It should be noted that, according to Serova, she did not receive any money as part of her settlement.

As she has maintained from the beginning of her legal action, Serova’s main objective in filing this lawsuit was justice for Michael Jackson, his art and his fans. 

And while Sony hasn’t offered refunds — or an apology — to fans who feel they’ve been duped, the removal of the Cascio tracks from digital platforms worldwide has gone a long way to restoring the integrity of Jackson’s discography.

But despite the Supreme Court’s ruling — that the wording on a CD cover is subject to consumer protection laws — it appears Sony and the Estate have opted against recalling CD copies of Michael from music stores or other retailers around the world. 

This is surprising.

The case with Serova is settled only with Serova, meaning anyone else who purchased the album within the statute of limitations — or anyone who might buy the album in the future — would be able to sue Sony and the Estate just like Serova did.

The only difference is that a potential future plaintiff wouldn’t have to argue that the wording on the album cover was commercial speech, or contend with a ‘lack of knowledge’ defense from the corporations.

Now that the case is settled, will the truth regarding the Cascio tracks and the Michael album ever be told?

After selling the Cascio tracks as authentic Jackson recordings for almost 12 years — since December 2010 — Sony and the Estate’s settlement with Serova seems to have absolved Cascio and Porte of liability. At no point were the alleged forgers required to testify under oath, or prove the authenticity of their songs.

And while Sony and the Estate have stated that the recent removal of the Cascio tracks from digital platforms is the “simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all,” many of Jackson’s most dedicated fans continue to demand answers.

My forthcoming true crime podcast series Faking Michael will explore those answers, taking listeners behind the scenes to uncover the music industry scandal they were never meant to hear about.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts to be notified when episodes become available.


Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.
TheVault-DSBanner

Share Button
Continue Reading

Cascio Tracks

Alleged Forgeries Removed From Michael Jackson’s Online Catalog After 12 Years of Protests and a Fraud Lawsuit

Published

on

Share Button
Three songs alleged to have been falsely attributed to Michael Jackson were abandoned by the pop star’s estate and record company this week after 12 years of fan protests and a consumer fraud lawsuit.

The alleged forgeries – known as the ‘Cascio tracks’ – come from a collection of 12 songs which producers Eddie Cascio and James Porte claim Jackson secretly recorded in Cascio’s basement in the fall of 2007.

The 12 Cascio tracks were sold to Jackson’s estate a year after the pop star’s death, and three of them – “Breaking News,” “Keep Your Head Up” and “Monster” – were officially released by Sony Music on the Michael album in December 2010.

But Jackson’s fans insist the songs are fakes, with vocals sung by an impostor, and they’ve been demanding the tracks be removed from Jackson’s catalog for the past 12 years.

This week, they got their wish, with the controversial songs being removed from streaming platforms around the world. Jackson’s estate also appear to have discontinued the original 10-track CD version of the Michael album, replacing it with a 7-track edition which can now be ordered from their official website.

But according to a joint statement issued by Jackson’s estate and Sony – who are currently co-defendants in a class action lawsuit which alleges that the Cascio tracks are fakes – their decision to abandon the tracks had nothing to do with their disputed authenticity:

“The Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music decided to remove the tracks ‘Breaking News,’ ‘Monster’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up,’ from the 2010 ‘Michael’ album as the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all,” reads the statement, adding that “nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks – it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them.”

But many fans aren’t accepting Sony and the Estate’s position, because the “conversation associated with these tracks” is founded entirely on their disputed authenticity. According to some fans, removing the songs while defending their authenticity is not way to move “beyond the distraction surrounding them.”

And despite the fact that the “conversation associated with these tracks” has persisted relentlessly for 12 years, Sony and the Estate continued to sell the tracks to unwitting consumers throughout that entire period, while reaping millions of dollars from what many believe are brazen forgeries.

Until now.

The Jackson family tried to warn them

Prior to the release of the Michael album in 2010, several members of the Jackson family tried to reason with the Estate, informing them that the vocals on the Cascio tracks were not Michael’s while urging them not to move forward with their release.

Michael’s siblings Randy, Jermaine and Latoya all claimed that the vocals on the tracks did not belong to their brother.

They were ignored.

Michael’s mother – Estate beneficiary and family matriarch, Katherine Jackson – raised her voice against the tracks.

She was also ignored.

Michael’s oldest brother, Jackie Jackson, also came out against the Cascio tracks, revealing that both he and Estate co-executor John McClain had insisted for many weeks that the alleged forgeries should be removed from the album.

Their concerns were “not taken seriously.”

Michael’s nephews Taryll, TJ and Taj from the group 3T also spoke out, taking to social media to dispute the authenticity of the songs and raise awareness regarding some of what went on behind the scenes. 

Once again, their concerns were ignored.

In a statement issued on the 5th of November 2010, Sony asserted their “complete confidence” in the authenticity of the tracks. It was even reported that two independent forensic musicologists had verified that the vocals were Jackson’s.

Fans reject Breaking News

On the 8th of November 2010, five weeks before the Michael album was officially released, Sony unveiled one of the Cascio tracks – “Breaking News” – in a world premiere on Michael Jackson’s website.

When fans heard the track, they revolted. 

Many rejected the notion that Michael was the vocalist while pointing the finger at another singer named Jason Malachi.

But as they’d done with the Jackson family, Sony and the Estate ignored the opinions of fans.

Instead of reconsidering their plan to release the Cascio tracks, the Estate opted to gaslight fans in a statement, claiming that they’d investigated the authenticity of the vocals and believed “without reservation” that they were indeed Michael’s.

The following month the Estate and Sony took things a step further, stipulating in no uncertain terms that the vocals were “performed by Michael Jackson” on the back cover of the Michael album – released in the U.S. on the 14th of December 2010. 

ABOVE: RESERVE SIDE OF MICHAEL ALBUM COVER

They also arranged for Eddie Cascio to defend the authenticity of his songs on the Oprah Winfrey show. The Jackson family, however, were not invited to tell their side of the story.

The lawsuit

In June 2014, Michael Jackson fan Vera Serova filed a class action consumer fraud lawsuit against Jackson’s estate, Sony, Eddie Cascio, James Porte and their production company.

In her lawsuit, Serova alleges that Cascio and Porte are the masterminds of an “elaborate artistic fraud” in which they forged a collection of fake songs, and that Sony and the Estate misled her and others by attributing those forgeries to Michael Jackson on the Michael album.

As part of her lawsuit, Serova demanded the removal of the Cascio tracks from Jackson’s discography – a demand which now seems to have been met.

But despite the Cascio tracks having now been removed, Serova’s lawsuit remains ongoing.

It has been reported by the media this past week that Sony and the Estate won this case in 2018. 

This is simply not true.

In fact, Serova actually won the initial ruling on Sony and the Estate’s involvement in this case back in 2016. At that time, Sony and the Estate had tried to shirk responsibility, but were ordered to face the music by the Los Angeles Superior Court.

But Sony and the Estate felt they’d done nothing wrong and appealed that ruling – an appeal on which they prevailed in 2018.

In turn, Serova fought back, petitioning the California Supreme Court for review.

And based on the Supreme Court’s view that the appeal court’s ruling was legally “problematic,” Serova won her bid for review.

Oral arguments in that review were heard by the state Supreme Court the 24th of May 2022. 

A ruling has not yet been made, but is expected soon.

Sony and the Estate will need to prevail to be officially removed from litigation once and for all. If they don’t prevail, they’ll remain defendants in this case.

As of today (July 7), neither party has definitively prevailed and there is no judgment.

As mentioned, the original producers of the Cascio tracks – Eddie Cascio and James Porte – have also been sued as part of Serova’s lawsuit. They are sued with fraud, and that aspect of the lawsuit also remains ongoing.

You can hear my opinion on the removal of the Cascio tracks and much more below, in a roundtable discussion hosted by Michael Jackson podcast The MJCast:

I am also working on a podcast series called Faking Michael detailing the ins and outs of the Cascio tracks and the Michael album. Subscribe via podcast apps to be alert when episodes are released in the future.


Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.
TheVault-DSBanner

Share Button
Continue Reading

Subscribe to Podcast

Articles

Cascio Tracks1 year ago

Producer Teddy Riley Comes Clean Regarding Fake Songs From Posthumous Michael Jackson Album

Legendary producer Teddy Riley has spoken out against the controversial Michael Jackson album he worked on after the pop star’s...

Cascio Tracks2 years ago

Huge Win for Michael Jackson Fan as Supreme Court Rejects Sony’s Free Speech Defense in “Fake” Songs Lawsuit

Two ‘get out of jail free’ cards, used by lawyers for Sony to avoid facing the music in a consumer...

Cascio Tracks2 years ago

Alleged Forgeries Removed From Michael Jackson’s Online Catalog After 12 Years of Protests and a Fraud Lawsuit

Three songs alleged to have been falsely attributed to Michael Jackson were abandoned by the pop star’s estate and record...

Cascio Tracks2 years ago

Supreme Court Judge Grills Sony Lawyer Over ‘Contradictory’ Arguments in Alleged Michael Jackson Fraud

A lawyer defending Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson in a consumer fraud lawsuit has today argued that...

Cascio Tracks2 years ago

Court Date Set in Supreme Court Battle Over Legal Right to Sell Alleged Michael Jackson Forgeries

Sony Music and the Estate of Michael Jackson will again fight for their right to sell alleged forgeries as authentic...

Creative Process2 years ago

Invincible, ‘Xscape’ and Michael Jackson’s Quest for Greatness

Below is a chapter from my book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault, revised for this article. The full book...

Creative Process2 years ago

‘Blue Gangsta’ and Michael Jackson’s Fascination with America’s 20th Century Underbelly

Below is a chapter from my book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault, revised for this article. The full book...

Creative Process2 years ago

Michael Jackson Meets America in Invincible Album Outtake ‘A Place With No Name’

Below is a chapter from my book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault, revised for this article. The full book...

Cascio Tracks3 years ago

First Amendment Coalition to Support Sony and the Jackson Estate in Fake Songs Lawsuit

There has been yet another twist in the class action lawsuit filed by Californian consumer Vera Serova against Sony Music...

Cascio Tracks3 years ago

Californian Government Joins Fraud Lawsuit Against Sony Music and Jackson Estate

The California state government has officially joined a class action lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s estate and record company. In a...

Trending

Copyright © 2022 DamienShields.com. All rights reserved.