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But a ruling Monday by a Los Angeles judge cleared the way by naming as temporary administrators of the estate two of Mr. Jackson's business associates. Those administrators, lawyer John Branca and record executive John McClain, are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the estate.
Late Monday, an official concert Web site began selling T-shirts, belt buckles, hats and other memorabilia originally created as souvenirs for the O2 concerts.
AEG also plans to make a documentary about Mr. Jackson's preparations for his comeback bid, using 100 hours of footage it shot during planning and rehearsals. The company's proceeds from such a film, however, will depend on striking a licensing deal with the singer's estate.
The estate and AEG have a number of such issues to resolve, including whether the estate must repay AEG the $20 million or more it advanced to Mr. Jackson ahead of his concerts. The promoter had spent close to $30 million in preparation for the concerts.
People in the concert industry estimated that AEG might have realized a net income of around $50 million from the 50 shows. Now the company must see whether it can offset 50 nights' worth of merchandise and food sales, licensing deals, VIP ticketing packages and other revenue streams lost to the canceled shows.
'Until we sit down and lay out a strategic plan,' AEG's Mr. Phillips said, 'I don't know if we'll recoup, make money, lose a little money, or what.'
A $17 million insurance policy taken out by AEG would pay off only if a pending toxicology report supports a claim that Mr. Jackson's death was accidental, Mr. Phillips said. Additionally, the promoter is in the process of offering refunds on the nearly one million tickets it sold, whose face value was estimated at between $85 million and $120 million.
The company is giving fans the option of keeping their tickets as souvenirs, in lieu of a cash refund. That would offset Mr. Jackson's obligation to the promoter, but people familiar with the situation said that so far, just 10% have asked for the souvenir ticket.
