Sony Responds to Allegations of Fake Recordings in Michael Jackson Suit: 'No One Has Conceded'

After reports initially surfaced that Sony Music admitted that several recordings featured on the posthumous 2010 Michael Jackson album Michael were fake, the record label is clarifying their stance in a new statement.

“No one has conceded that Michael Jackson did not sing on the songs. The hearing Tuesday was about whether the First Amendment protects Sony Music and the Estate, and there has been no ruling on the issue of whose voice is on the recordings,” said attorney Zia Modabber of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP to Billboard.

The class action suit filed in 2014 by fan Vera Serova against Sony Music and other parties claimed Sony had “complete confidence” that the vocals in question were recorded by Jackson before his death in June of 2009, based on statements from a number of musicians, engineers and musicologists.

A source also tells Billboard that the estate and Sony attempted to have the suit tossed out based on California’s anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute aimed at protecting the free speech rights of all Californians. A judge partially granted the motion, and the law firm then appealed that portions that were denied, which resulted in the hearing on Tuesday (August 22).

The source added that the hearing was “not to determine the nature of the vocals, but to determine if the album cover, title, some fine print on the back of the album and a YouTube ad were protected by the First Amendment.”

This story is still ongoing. For more on the case, visit Billboard.com.