How he beat it in a thriller

‘‘I would just get back to the fundamentals,’’ said the Colorado musician. ‘‘Focus on… on your craft, stay out of the media and try to put as much good quality product out as you can.’’

Focus and productivity has been a problem for Jackson recently, but Blender magazine editor-in-chief Craig Marks said this latest legal turn could boost Jackson’s prospects.

‘‘(His career) wasn’t going very well until about 20 minutes ago,’’ Marks said after learning the verdict. ‘‘If anything can restart a career that was in decline, I imagine this could be it,’’ he said. ‘‘For some consumers, this will put the charges out of mind…. If you’re a record company, you have to assume he’s not going to be brought up on any additional charges any time soon.’’

Denver’s Twist & Shout owner Paul Epstein said even a trial with as many distasteful tidbits as this never clouded the fact that Jackson made some of music’s most memorable albums.

‘‘The Jackson 5, to me, will always be very important,’’ said Epstein. ‘‘The period of Off the Wall, Bad, and Thriller is unparalleled in music history.’’ Still, Epstein doubted the public, particularly the American public, will ever embrace Jackson with same fervor.

‘‘It’s hard to imagine him not being damaged goods at this point,’’ he said. One way Jackson might regain popularity would be to tour with the siblings who helped sparked his career, Epstein said.

‘‘I have heard he’s planning a Jackson 5 reunion tour,’’ Epstein said. ‘‘That could be the way to do it. Hearken back to a more innocent time.’’

Stan Soocher, a University of Colorado entertainment law professor, watched the Michael Jackson copyright infringement suit unfold in Denver in 1992. The author of They Fought the Law: Rock Music Goes to Court (1999, Schirmer Books) said it may take time for ‘‘the critical clouds to clear’’ but even scandal cannot douse Jackson’s musical legacy.

‘‘We’ve seen this before in the entertainment industry,’’ Soocher said. —NYT

• Elizabeth Taylor, actor and friend

“Thank God Michael is vindicated for all time. Now maybe people will leave him alone.”

• Jesse Jackson, rights activist

He called the trial “an excruciating process” and said the star had been “tried and convicted in the newsroom”. He added: “Michael must assess the implications of the conduct that got him into trouble.”

• Debbie Rowe, ex-wife “

I would never have married a paedophile. And the system works.”

• Tom Sneddon, prosecutor

“We did the right thing for the right reasons,” he told a news conference after the verdict, defending his decision to charge Jackson. “My past history with Mr. Jackson had absolutely nothing to do with the present case.” —Reuters