When Michael Jackson's Invincible was released last fall, it was accompanied by all the hype and hoopla expected for a Jackson project.

        There was the 30th anniversary tribute concerts to him, an all-star video for the first single, “You Rock My World,” and a No. 1 debut on the charts.

        But soon after its release, Invincible became invisible. Eight months later, the album has dropped off the charts, produced just one video and sold just 2 million copies in the United States — great sales for many stars but disappointing for the King of Pop.

        That evaporation of an album by one of the best-selling artists ever has led to an ugly battle involving Mr. Jackson and his longtime label, Sony Music. While some industry insiders blame the album's demise on Mr. Jackson's waning star power, his fans have alleged that Sony failed to promote it.

        Mr. Jackson's producer, Rodney Jerkins, questions whether enough was done by either side.

        “I think it's at a stalemate because there is no promotion, there is no video. If there's nothing to promote or see, how can you sell records?” he said.

        Invincible, which was five years in the making and cost several million dollars to produce, debuted in October to mostly mediocre reviews. But it sold about 366,000 copies in its first week to debut at No. 1.

        Its first single, “You Rock My World,” was a Top 10 hit but got lukewarm reception on the radio. Still, the album was doing well when a second single, “Butterflies,” was released to radio and became a strong R&B hit.

        But no video was released for “Butterflies,” and after that the album continued its slide down the charts. So far, it has sold about 5 million copies worldwide.

        Mr. Jackson's management declined to comment. A representative for Sony said on condition of anonymity: “We're proud of the work we've done in marketing and promoting the record worldwide.”

        Many in the industry declined to comment on the record about the album — a testament, perhaps, to the clout Mr. Jackson still has.

        His fans have suggested that Sony wanted the album to fail. The theory goes that Mr. Jackson owes the label tens of millions of dollars in outstanding loans, and if he failed to make enough to pay them off, Sony might try to take over the joint-publishing company it owns with him, Sony/ATV Music. That company owns the lucrative Beatles catalog that Mr. Jackson bought in the 1980s.

        The Michael Jackson Fan Club is planning a protest at Sony's New York headquarters on July 6, claiming Sony “is not promoting Invincible in an attempt to make it financially difficult for Mr. Jackson to recoup the cost of making this album,” according to a news release.

        This month the New York Daily News cited an unidentified “executive” as saying Mr. Jackson owed Sony $200 million. Mr. Jackson responded angrily: “For Sony to make a false claim that I owe them $200 million is outrageous and offensive,” he said in a statement.

        Sony said it had never issued such a statement and was “baffled” by Mr. Jackson's comments.

        Some insiders say that even if Mr. Jackson did owe millions, his recording contract and joint publishing agreement are separate, and his share of Sony/ATV Music is safe. Some say Mr. Jackson is encouraging the rumors in hopes of getting a better contract at another label.

        Mr. Jackson has one of the most lucrative contracts in the music industry. Given the industry's current downturn, it's questionable whether he could get such a deal elsewhere — even with the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, and other multiplatinum discs to his credit.

        “It's a situation where he would like to exit gracefully,” said one industry source who requested anonymity.

        Although only one video was made for Invincible, industry sources say Sony spent about $25 million to promote it. Mr. Jackson, for his part, did the Madison Square Garden anniversary concerts, which were boiled down to a successful CBS television special.

        But the reclusive star did only a handful of interviews, and interviewers were dissuaded from asking about his penchant for plastic surgery and the other eccentricities that have created his bizarre image.

        Mr. Jackson has performed a few times since the album's release — including the American Bandstand anniversary special on ABC and a Democratic fund-raiser at the Apollo Theater — but he sang only old hits.

        Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, the Grammy-winning entertainer who co-wrote one song on Invincible,said of the disc's publicity: “There was obviously some rift there that stopped either party from continuing. We don't know what it could have done with the proper campaign.”

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