After the backlash from the fan community over the new “Thriller 40” official artwork, Michael Jackson’s Estate has released the following press release:

About the Thriller 40 Album Design

We want to thank all the Michael Jackson fans who have expressed their excitement about the “Thriller 40” campaign that will be rolling out over the coming months, which will include the release of the 2-CD album coming this November 18th, 2022.

Some of you expressed your concerns about the change to the original “Thriller” album cover packaging as part of the 40th anniversary celebration. We wanted to share with you that the original album packaging is not being replaced permanently – only as part of the campaign to celebrate this milestone anniversary this year – after the campaign concludes, the original packaging will continue to be used on all pressings of the “Thriller” album.

It is very common for artists to make changes to album packaging to mark special milestones like anniversaries, remastering, etc. including Michael who changed the photo, layout and treatment on the lettering for “Thriller 25.”  And, to be honest, it is something that we think is a smart thing to do.  In this case, the photo comes from the same photo shoot but is slightly different and the biggest change is just to the font for the lettering so that, overall, it feels both familiar and new at the same time.  In selecting the new fonts, the goal was to make the design feel fresh and current for music fans who are only now discovering Michael Jackson and this iconic album.

We would encourage you to focus on some of the things that are yet to be announced that are part of this campaign and are directly in response to the numerous fan requests over the years such as unreleased material and 4K short films. Please stay tuned for more announcements about “Thriller 40” as the Estate has planned several anniversary activations between now and the end of the year.

Thank you, MJ Online Team