Sony spent over $30M recording Michael Jackson's last album, then wouldn't promote it

Sony began recording sessions for what became Invincible in 1997, and over the next four years Michael Jackson worked across more than ten studios with nine producers, recording between 50 and 87 songs before narrowing the album to 16 tracks.

The production cost exceeded $30 million, with roughly $25 million more spent on promotion, making it the most expensive album ever made at the time. It released in October 2001 and debuted at number one, selling 366,300 copies in its first week.

A worsening relationship between Jackson and Sony meant the label did not organize the world tour that had backed every one of his prior adult studio albums. Without that promotional push, Invincible sold about 8 million copies worldwide — a hit for most artists, but a steep drop from the tens of millions his earlier albums had sold.