Primary Songwriters of the Thriller Album
The majority of the eight tracks on the Thriller album were written by Michael Jackson himself, with the title track co-written by Rod Temperton, a British songwriter and member of the band Heatwave. The album, released by Epic Records and CBS Records, features six songs solely credited to Michael Jackson and two songs co-written by him and Rod Temperton, including the singles "Thriller" and "Baby Be Mine." The songwriting credits are documented in the United States Copyright Office and confirmed by the album's liner notes and subsequent licensing registrations with performance rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI. For detailed copyright registration data, the U.S. Copyright Office catalog provides searchable records of the composition registrations associated with the album https://www.copyright.gov/records/.
Rod Temperton, who also wrote hits for Donna Summer and George Benson, contributed the lyrics and musical arrangements for the two co-written tracks but did not write any other songs on the album. The remaining tracks, including "Beat It" and "Billie Jean," were entirely written by Michael Jackson, with the latter two songs also credited to Quincy Jones as the album's producer. The distinction between writing credits and production credits is critical for royalty splits, as songwriting royalties are paid directly to the writers and their publishers, while producer royalties are negotiated separately through the record label.
Publishing Ownership and Royalty Splits
Michael Jackson's share of the songwriting royalties from Thriller is administered by his estate through the Mijac Music publishing catalog, which he founded and which owns the rights to his compositions. The catalog is currently managed by the Michael Jackson Estate in partnership with Sony Music Publishing, following a long-term administration agreement that grants Sony the right to exploit the songs globally. The estate's ownership stake in the Mijac catalog means that the majority of the mechanical and performance royalties from Thriller continue to flow to the Jackson family trust, with specific percentages determined by the original songwriting splits and any subsequent agreements with co-writers or publishers.
Rod Temperton's estate holds the publishing rights to the two songs he co-wrote, and those royalties are distributed separately from the Mijac catalog. The exact royalty split for those tracks is governed by the contractual agreements in place at the time of writing, which typically assign a 50/50 or similar proportional share between the co-writers unless otherwise specified in a publishing deal. The management of these splits is handled by the respective music publishers, with the estate's administration confirmed through public ASCAP and BMI repertory databases that list the current copyright owners and their affiliated publishers for each registered composition.
Current Rights Holders and Licensing Structure
The master recording rights for the Thriller album are owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which acquired the Epic Records catalog through its parent company structure and the 2016 acquisition of the Jackson 5 catalog and related masters. The composition rights, however, remain separate from the master rights, meaning that the estate and Temperton's estate control the underlying musical works independently of the sound recording ownership. This separation allows for distinct licensing streams, with the composition rights generating royalties whenever the songs are streamed, performed publicly, or reproduced in sync licenses for film and television.
Any entity seeking to license the Thriller compositions for commercial use must negotiate directly with the current music publishers representing the Mijac catalog and the Rod Temperton estate's interests. The global licensing infrastructure is supported by the mechanical rights organizations in each territory, with the Harry Fox Agency handling U.S. mechanical licenses and equivalent bodies operating in other regions. The estate's administration of the catalog has been structured to maximize long-term royalty income, with the Sony partnership providing the technological and distribution infrastructure to ensure the songs remain accessible across all major digital platforms and physical formats.