not really, apparently he sold 750 million records, and only made 700 million during his career. And most of that money came from Beatles rights ownership and concerts.
Good point, even with a $15 or $20 CD the artists 'take' is probably only slightly higher (maybe even lower) than their cut of an iTunes sold track. All that 'missing' money is why the recording industry (mainly the big labels) are hurting and not the artists (they were always getting reamed).
MJ probably had different deals throughout his career, but I would guess that even $700 million is a low estimate of his earnings.
