With the new release of the documentary Finding Neverland, detailing accounts of child sexual abuse by Jackson, many radio stations are now refusing to play the deceased artist, while others maintain a case against censorship and in doing so continue to play Jackson’s songs.
A few days after HBO premiered Finding Neverland, large radio stations like Quebec’s CKOI, Rhyme, and The Beat, all under the radio network Cogeco Media, have pulled Jackson’s songs from the airwaves. As a spokesperson for Cogeco explained, the network decided to pull the music temporarily because the documentary had prompted radio listeners to be vocal about being uncomfortable with Jackson’s songs on the radio. And the documentary is rather explosive, with two men alleging that Jackson sexually abused them various times throughout their childhood and adolescence.
While Canada’s Cogeco Media and New Zealand’s MediaWorks and NZME pull Jackson from the airwaves, other stations are taking a stand against censorship and continue to play Jackson. In the United States, there is a hesitance to stop playing Jackson. The second largest U.S. radio company, Cumulus Media, is leaving the decision of playing Jackson’s music up to its program directors. The country’s largest radio network, iHeartRadio, is also letting the program directors decide whether to pull Jackson’s music. But until now, there has been no change in Jackson’s music hitting the airwaves.
This new documentary has created, as expected, a great divide between Jackson fans. Many are proclaiming the musician as innocent, while others are unsure of what to believe. The Jackson family filed a lawsuit against HBO about a month ago, and Jackson’s daughter, Paris, has already condemned the documentary on social media. There have been protests outside of media network buildings who have stopped playing Jackson’s music.
Since the documentary’s release, there has also been a drop in Jackson’s streams and sales. Similar to R. Kelly’s streams after the Lifetime release of Surviving R. Kelly, Jackson’s Spotify streams and album sales have dropped. Although not as extreme as in the case of R. Kelly, it is obvious the documentary has impacted some of Jackson’s following. That didn’t last long though as according to The New York Times “In the three days after the film, those [streaming] numbers climbed back up. By Thursday — the last day for which complete information is available — they had risen to 2.5 million. Particularly popular, as always, were hits like “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.”
What will this documentary do in the long run to Jackson’s legacy? This remains unseen, but unfortunately, unlike earlier accusations made when Jackson was still alive, the singer is now unable to defend himself. We can only hope that, as the saying goes, the truth will always come out and justice will prevail. Until then, all we can do is keep an open mind as well as an unbiased ear to everything we hear, in the hopes that the truth will come out sooner rather than later.
