Former California Highway Patrol officer Gregg Musgrove was “treasure hunting” when he found a rare find from the King of Pop.
In a storage unit located in the heart of San Fernando Valley, a cache of cassette tapes and DAT cassettes containing unreleased Michael Jackson songs was discovered.
An associate contacted Musgrove regarding a storage unit he had recently purchased in Van Nuys, which sparked his quest for the recordings.
According to Musgrove, the unit was previously owned by musician and music producer Bryan Loren, whose present location is unclear.
The tapes contain 12 unreleased songs that Jackson worked on between 1989 and 1991 before the Dangerous album was released.
“I’ve gone to all the fan sites. Some of [the songs] are rumored to exist, some of them have been leaked a little bit,” Musgrove told The Hollywood Reporter. “A couple aren’t even out there in the world.”
“I’m listening to this stuff, and I would get goosebumps because nobody’s ever heard this stuff before,” Musgrove added. “To hear Michael Jackson actually talk and kind of joke back and forth, it was really, really cool.”
Upon hearing the news, fans took to social media to share their thoughts about the said unreleased tapes.
read about the unreleased michael jackson tracks… his estate won't allow the public release of the tapes… BUT THEY'RE ALSO NOT PURCHASING THE TRACKS…. WHAT THE FUCK.
— Jakesoul🇵🇸 (@Jakesoul_05) December 14, 2024
Those unreleased tapes of Michael Jackson songs will one day create this 🤣
— Syncere𝕏8 (@SyncereX8) December 14, 2024
we need this to be outttt!!! we need another album of unreleased music like xscape !!
— JOSEPH ASTOR (@josephastor) December 13, 2024
almost in tears rn https://t.co/Tkr6J9oha2
— ana (@anaIucorrales) December 13, 2024
I would really love to hear these songs. The MJ Estate has done a terrible job with releasing vault music and i wish they would release it. Fans would receive it with open arms. https://t.co/jRLi9eUXPB
— CrazyBeautifulOne (@KingCam79) December 13, 2024
thats literally his best music era RELEASE THOSE https://t.co/igIVdeMlq9
— amara 🧸 (@jakeluvbot) December 13, 2024
I can’t help but feel that this is Michael from beyond the grave, reaching out to give us a little Christmas magic. Now, if only these tracks would get released 💫 https://t.co/s08Rh2dFWA
— Gigi 🌑✨ (@gigi_luna777) December 13, 2024
I WANT IT NEOWWW https://t.co/aL45L4OOxp pic.twitter.com/uVaFDiUvyk
— خ (@mys4ria) December 14, 2024
Musgrove will probably be among the few individuals who ever hear these tapes, which is unfortunate for diehard Jackson fans. Earlier this year, he and the lawyer he hired presented their findings to the Jackson Estate.
For an unknown reason, the estate, which Musgrove claims conducted their own investigation into the tapes, refused to buy them. However, they did give him a formal letter indicating that the estate does not claim ownership of these particular cassettes. Yet the letter makes it clear that the estate owns the copyright to the recordings and songs, not him or anyone else who could later buy these tapes. In essence, the said tapes can never be released publicly.
“The Estate of Michael Jackson was presented with DAT copies NOT master recordings of Michael’s music, and we confirmed that the actual master recordings were in fact already located in the Estate’s vaults,” as stated by a representative for the Estate. “It should be clear to all that ownership and rights of exploitation to the recordings remain vested in MJJP Records and that nothing commercial or otherwise can be done with the DAT copies.”
The find’s precise value is still unknown, but Musgrove and the team assisting him think it’s in the seven-figure area. He intends to present it to the four leading auction houses in the near future.
Musgrove doesn’t currently have the actual tapes in his hands. They are under his lawyer’s supervision in a guarded facility.
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