JACKO - MUSIC INDUSTRY IS RACIST

Michael Jackson has delivered another damning broadside at the music industry, claiming it is racist.

Speaking at a civil rights meeting in New York on Saturday (July 6), the fading superstar reserved his strongest words for his Sony label boss Tommy Mottola, labelling him "mean, racist and very devilish." He claimed Mottola had used the n-word about a black artist.

Sony have responded labelling Michael Jackson's criticisms as "ludicrous, spiteful and hurtful".

"The record companies really do conspire against the artists. They steal, they cheat, they do everything they can - especially the black artists," Michael Jackson said. A crowd of 350 gathered at the Rev Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters in Harlem to hear the speech.

In recent weeks, Michael Jackson has been going on the offensive against Sony. He blames them for the failure of recent album 'Invincible', claiming they didn't pay enough to promote it.