Music legend Quincy Jones feuded with the Jacksons after claiming family 'cheated' him out of $30M

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Before his passing, Quincy Jones was apparently locked in a full-on courtroom battle with one of music’s most famous families: The Jacksons.

The legendary producer who helped Michael Jackson’s career wasn’t about to let go of what he believed was rightfully his.

And it wasn’t small change he was after—he wanted a whopping $30 million, money he claimed the Jackson estate owed him after some shady post-Michael moves. Radar Online recounted how Quincy was ready to fight, and he wasn’t pulling any punches by the looks of it.

Quincy Jones versus the Jacksons

In 2013, Quincy Jones accused the Jackson family of reneging on a deal he had made with Michael to increase his royalty share. According to an insider, Quincy felt straight-up betrayed. "Quincy believes the Jacksons cheated him and he’s going to make them pay," the source spilled at the time, adding, “He deserves better treatment from those ungrateful Jacksons!”

The insider claimed Quincy was more than just Michael’s producer—he was the “genius behind” Michael’s success. “He made Michael into a superstar. He produced Thriller, Off the Wall, and Bad, which sold millions of albums and made them both incredibly rich," they insisted. 

But here’s the twist: After Michael’s tragic passing in 2009, the Jackson estate brokered a better deal with Sony — upping their profits and, according to Quincy, cutting him out. The estate reportedly offered him around $3 million, but Quincy wasn’t having it—he wanted the full $30 million.

He even claimed they had remixed and edited his original recordings to dodge paying him what he was owed. “Quincy isn’t going down without a fight,” the insider insisted. “Everybody in the business knows if you cheat him, he’s going to get you for it!”

A partial win for Quincy Jones

Fast-forward to 2017, and Quincy Jones finally saw some justice — well sort of. A Los Angeles jury sided with him and awarded him $9.42 million in damages. It was far from the $30 million he wanted, but still a decent payday.

The jury agreed that he’d been shortchanged on royalties, especially for the music used in the 'This Is It' documentary and two Cirque du Soleil shows featuring Michael’s work.

Quincy was gracious in his response at the time. "Although this judgment is not the full amount that I was seeking, I am very grateful that the jury decided in our favor in this matter. I view it not only as a victory for myself personally but for artists’ rights overall," he said.

"This lawsuit was never about Michael, it was about protecting the integrity of the work we all did in the recording studio and the legacy of what we created," he added.

But Quincy’s celebration was short-lived. In 2020, an appellate court slashed the award, ruling that he didn’t actually have the contractual right to that extra money. They claimed the trial judge had allowed the jury to interpret his contract in a way that wasn’t accurate. The court’s decision meant Quincy was left with only $2.6 million out of the $9 million he’d been awarded.

The Jackson family’s lawyers had argued that after Michael’s death, they were entitled to a bigger share of the profits from their joint venture with Sony — which bumped up their cut from 50% to two-thirds.

Quincy’s attorneys argued that his producer contracts entitled him to a bump too. But the appeals court said no in the end, sending Quincy’s multi-million dollar payout down to a fraction of what he’d hoped for.

A legendary goodbye to Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones’s legal saga may have had a roller-coaster ending, but his life story is nothing short of legendary. The 28-time Grammy winner, known for his genius collaborations with icons like Frank Sinatra, Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles, passed away at 91, surrounded by his family.

His publicist Arnold Robinson shared the sad news. “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones' passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him," Robinson said in a statement.