Will Michael Jackson Wear a Triple Crown?

Singer Michael Jackson already has made the two biggest-selling long-form music videos: this year’s “Moonwalker” (CMV) and the 1983 release, “The Making of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ ” (Vestron).

Soon he may have the top three.

“Michael Jackson . . . The Legend Continues” (Vestron, $15.98) is due out Wednesday.

Unlike “Moonwalker,” a series of music videos from Jackson’s “Bad” album loosely arranged around a plot, this one is a documentary, narrated by James Earl Jones. Using mostly TV clips and interviews, it shows Jackson’s steady growth into the biggest pop-music star of the ‘80s. There’s extensive footage of the Jackson 5’s early ‘70s TV guest shots.

This may sound familiar to Showtime cable subscribers. The 60-minute program was originally produced for Showtime and aired last year. Jackson and Suzanne de Passe, of Motown Productions, were the executive producers.

Vestron was anxious to get the rights to this tape because of the explosion in the music video market since early in the year, triggered by “Moonwalker,” the best-selling video ever (750,000 units). Bruce Springsteen’s “Video Anthology” (350,000 units) and U2’s “Rattle and Hum” (375,000) have reinforced the notion that long-form music videos--especially those featuring superstar acts--can be big sellers.

What’s happened is a shift in marketing techniques. Video retailers, whose primary business is renting major movies, are not the major focus for long-form music video sales any longer.

To market these titles, video companies are turning to mass merchants such as K mart and Target, now a major source of home-video sales. Even more important, the distributors have learned to market their music-videos in record stores, taking the product directly to the music fans who are the primary audience for these titles.

The new Jackson video promises to be a sales blockbuster too. Vestron Video President Jon Peisinger said the company will initially ship between 400,000 and 500,000 copies. The plan is to market it everywhere .

“It won’t just be in video stores,” Peisinger said. “It will be in record stores, supermarkets, mass merchants, drugstores, you name it. At this low price, we’re aiming at the impulse buyer.”