Sony Music Entertainment has inked the largest recording contract in history to the estate of the late pop icon Michael Jackson. The contract is worth a minimum of $200 million and covers a total of ten projects over the next seven years. One of the projects is an album of never released Jackson material which is tentatively scheduled for a November release. Since his death last June, more than 31 million Michael Jackson albums have been sold, including more than 5 million copies of the 2-disc album, "This Is It", which is included as one of the ten projects in the record-breaking deal.

"During his life, Michael's contracts set the standard for the industry," said John Branca, the co-administrator of the Jackson estate, in a statement prepared for release Tuesday. "By all objective criteria, this agreement with Sony Music demonstrates the lasting power of Michael's music by exceeding all previous industry benchmarks."

Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music's Columbia Epic Label Group, said in prepared remarks, "We're dedicated to protecting this icon's legacy and we're thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future."