Michael Jackson’s Death Spurs Music, Memorabilia Business

Michael Jackson’s commercial empire is encountering a posthumous spike as the artist’s unexpected death yesterday has fueled a desire to gobble up Jackson albums and memorabilia.

Revenues at Amazon and Apple’s iTunes have spiked today, no doubt in thanks to hundreds of thousands of purchases of Jackson music. Coincidentally, shares of Amazon were up 2 percent in midday trading. Apple was up 1.4 percent.

On Ebay, newspapers with headlines proclaiming Jackson’s death were going for as much as $50, and a Jackson “Thriller” doll was selling for $250.

Experts predict the spike is short-lived and will return to normal within a week or two.

Source:

BusinessWeek: Jackson Death Boosts Music Vendor Sales