Sad, bummed out & crushed!

Hi Jennifer and friends around the world. I'm so sad today. London is sad today. Millions of people who bought tickets to the comeback concert are going to either refund them or hang onto them for posterity. AEG certainly hopes people hang on to them. The death of Michael Jackson could put them out of business.

AEG sold 11 tickets a minute the instant they went on sale and sold out the entire 50 shows in 11 hours! Michael Jackson's London concerts were to begin on July 15, his first in 12 years involving a considerable amount of money. Even Madonna can't compete with this kind of ticket sales and unbelievable interest.

More than $85 million were already earned from ticket sales for the 50 shows at London's O2 Arena, which were already sold out. Producer and promoter of the shows, AEG Live, footed the bill for $20 million production. According to Billboard calculations, Jackson's take on ticket sales alone would have been worth $50 million.

The total ticket gross for the run would be about $90 million. Premium and VIP packages and secondary market sales would have boosted the gross to more than $100 million. And, merchandise sales could bring in another $15 million.

The Billboard Magazine website has been bombarded with inquiries and at one point the site as gone down.

I have several friends who want to obtain a refund but cannot get onto the sites to find out how to do this. They may just have to wait until everything calms down.

Clare London, England