Michael Jackson's label Epic Records say they won't hurry releasing the new music he recorded before his untimely death.

The King of Pop had been working on the untitled record for several years and had collaborated with artists including Akon, Will.i.am and Ne-Yo.

Epic Records president Amanda Ghost said although there is a huge “appetite” for the music from fans, they're paying their “respects” and “don't want to be seen to be jumping on any bandwagon associated with his death.”

Ghost continued to BBC6music: "If we do release anything of unreleased material, it has to be fantastic and it can't damage in any way his legacy or his legend and I won't let that happen at Epic.

"I have no idea when it's coming out, but it will come out on Sony/Epic. We haven't made any decisions because we just want to be respectful for his memory and not be seen in any way as trying to cash in."

Legal wrangling over the ownership of Jackson's estate is also expected to cause a delay in the songs being released.

Amanda Ghost, of course, is a singer-songwriter herself and is the first recording artist to be appointed the head of a major record label.

She said of her first meeting with Michael: "I walked up to him and said 'Hi, I'm the president of Epic,' and he said 'Wow, things have changed since I was there.'

"He knew my work and he thought it was fantastic that a creative had been put in charge."

(by Scott Colothan)