John Branca I: Negotiating Michael Jackson’s Thriller

The most viewed music video of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, was almost destroyed before it was released except for some almost unbelievable negotiations by music industry super-lawyer, John Branca, over 30 of whose clients have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame—ranging from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones to Michael Jackson and Dr Dre. Incidentally, this episode reveals how Branca was able to negotiate for Jackson the ownership of his master recordings, an almost unprecedented feat at the time.

For educators and negotiation fans looking to take a deep dive into John Branca's negotiations, check out the Harvard Business School case studies written by Jim Sebenius below:

• Sebenius, James K., and Alex Green. "Negotiating in a Hurricane: John Branca and the Michael Jackson Estate." Harvard Business School Case 924-026, July 2024. View Details

• Sebenius, James K., and Alex Green. "John Branca: Negotiating the Beatles' Northern Songs Catalog (A)." Harvard Business School Case 921-009, October 2020. View Details

• Sebenius, James K., and Alex Green. "John Branca: Negotiating the Beatles' Northern Songs Catalog (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 921-010, October 2020. View Details

• Sebenius, James K., and Alex Green. "John Branca: Negotiating Michael Jackson's Thriller (A)." Harvard Business School Case 920-027, October 2019. (Revised January 2020.) View Details

• Sebenius, James K., and Alex Green. "John Branca: Negotiating Michael Jackson’s Thriller (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 920-036, January 2020. View Details

About Jim Sebenius

A systematic approach to handling challenging negotiations is in the book I wrote with David Lax, 3D Negotiation. More about my background is here plus information about the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School—a consortium of Harvard, MIT, and Tufts—and the Future

of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Contact me here.

Acknowledgements

I am deeply grateful to Harvard for giving me permission to use audio excerpts from interviews I’ve conducted over the years with various Great Negotiator honorees and U.S. Secretaries of State, often with colleagues and friends such as Robert Mnookin of Harvard Law School and R. Nicholas Burns, formerly of Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Materials courtesy of the Great Negotiator Award Program at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Materials courtesy of the American Secretaries of State Program, a joint effort of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Program on the Future of Diplomacy at Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School. Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College.