The financial stakes: the ATV catalog and Jackson's publishing company. ■

Branca negotiated the 1985 ATV purchase and is credited with structuring the deal that became the foundation of the money fight running under the whole record — alongside Jackson's own publishing company, MiJac, holding Jackson's songs plus others acquired over the years. Removed 2026-07-11: this node previously quoted Branca giving specific dollar figures ("$41 million," "$2 billion") for the deal's value, sourced to an unpinned "post-2009 interview." A round-5 search located and read the only plausible real interview on record (Billboard, 2021) in full — it does not contain that language, so the quote and its figures have been removed rather than merely flagged. The deal's actual documented valuations, current as of the 2016 and 2024 Sony transactions, are tracked on Phase I's and Phase III's files.

The real story behind the 2003 firing — and it isn't a conflict of interest. ▤

Corrected 2026-07-10 — this page previously stated Branca had an undisclosed dual role with Sony. That claim traced back to a fan-video essay and doesn't hold up. The real, better-sourced story: in 2003 an unsubstantiated private investigation — the “Interfor Report,” commissioned by an increasingly paranoid Jackson — accused Branca of funneling Jackson's money into offshore accounts. Jackson's own lawyer testified under oath he'd found no credible evidence for the charges. Jackson fired Branca anyway, ending a relationship that ran back to the 1985 ATV deal. It's a load-bearing beat of the Phase III narrative — just a different one: paranoia and manipulation inside the circle, not a proven ethical lapse. Related: Mottola.

INTERCEPT ┤ N-02 — THE SWORN TESTIMONY

> JACKSON'S OWN LAWYER, David Legrand, at the 2005 trial, under oath: “I was given no credible evidence to support [the] charges; I would be doing Mr. Branca a great wrong if I said otherwise.”
> JACKSON'S TERMINATION LETTER, Feb 2003: “This is to confirm… that I am terminating the services of you and your firm… effective upon delivery of this letter… You are commanded to immediately cease expending effort of any kind on my behalf.”

DIRECT QUOTES · sworn 2005 trial testimony; Jackson's own termination letter · press ▤

A trusted insider, right up until the report landed. ■

Branca was still cc'd on official Jackson-camp correspondence as late as 2002 — the attorney's letter (from Brian Wolf) that formally cut ⌜Frank Cascio off from Jackson's circle was cc'd to Jackson, John McClain, Trudy Green, Branca, and Barry Siegel. Reframed now that the real story is known: there was no slow-dawning conflict to discover. This confirms Branca was still a fully trusted insider right up until the unsubstantiated Interfor Report (above) triggered his termination a few months later — abrupt and investigation-driven, not a gradual realization.

Sole executor, and a Best Producer award. ■

Co-executor John McClain died May 26, 2026 (age 71, complications from a fall) — Branca is now the estate's sole executor. He's also portrayed on-screen (by Miles Teller) in the 2026 Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic Michael, and won a Best Producer award for the film in July 2026. As sole executor, Branca is a directly named party in the active ⌜Frank Cascio litigation — current, active legal business, not archival Phase III material; full, carefully-framed detail lives on Cascio's page.

One researcher's closing inference — flagged as inference, not fact. /!\

A fan-research source draws a line from Branca's dual role to the outcome: after Jackson's 2009 death, both his personal catalog and the Beatles catalog ended up sold to Sony — suggesting “it might not be a coincidence.” This is an inference from timing, not a demonstrated causal claim. Presented as one researcher's reading, kept visually apart from the documented figures above — the site draws no conclusion here.