Show Rundown: January 30, 2013
Howard Is a Stimulated Amoeba
Jason Bateman Returns to the Stern Show
Tommy Mottola Is Not Animated
Tommy Mottola Talks Marrying and Making Music With Mariah Carey
What It’s Like to Produce an Album for Michael Jackson
What It’s Like to Produce an Album for Michael Jackson
"Michael thought that everything bigger was better," record executive Tommy Mottola said of the former pop star
Tommy said he’d also worked with Michael Jackson for many years, often fielding Michael’s bizarre 3am calls: “Of course, you’re thinking someone’s pranking you, at first.” Even worse was the financial stress of Michael’s process: “The recording costs were tens of millions of dollars and then marketing dollars were tens of millions on top of that. … Michael thought that everything bigger was better.”
When Michael was accused of molesting children, Tommy toed the company line: “Our job was to support Michael, and that’s what we did.” Howard asked if Tommy believed Michael was innocent–a question Tommy dodged: “I always believed in him.” Michael’s ‘Invincible’ album, proved him wrong: “It was an ok record. It was not nearly as good as his other records.”