So my friend was telling me some really interesting stats, that actually related to another post I made (50 cent one.) It seems that the big time recording artists actually make more money on merchandise and licensing then they do on the actual tunes they perform. Dre made more on beats then on albums. Aerosmith made more on guitar hero then on their albums. Rolling Stones bring in the most money on T Shirt sales. What do you guys and gals think of this?
Is this new to you? I remember back in the early 1990s NBA stars would make several million dollars a year on their contracts but then signs with a shoe company for 100 million with incentives. 50 cent actually made more money on vitamin water the he did on record sales. Endorsements are the way to go. You don' have to work for it, and you basically cut out the middle man in this situation. Record companies get paid first, then the artist.
Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton. Name recognition is what is leveraged into earnings. Basically every real business Donald Trump has been a part of has filed for bankruptcy except for the ones that are built purely on his name recognition. Build a huge casino, plaster you name on the top of it, the casino goes bankrupt, but everyone knows your name so you can write a book and get a tv show. Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian gave away their biggest products ( Home-made porn videos), but then cashed in on the fame that those videos gave them. Sure Paris had money and her last name was known all along, but SHE did not enter the public eye until the porn video... and what, a year later she has a TV show? it is the same with music now. You do the music so people know you, but then you need to leverage that name recognition if you want to actually make money from it.
As another user said this doesn't happens only with musicians, famous people in general for doing absolutely nothing productive with their fame/life are swimming in money that they made out of their products, those products obviously have great publicity campaigns and people are really buying those products! Another good example are The Beatles, those guys are/were a real big thing and a lot of their fans had original plastic action figures of the four of them, shirts, posters, etc. it's a smart way to take advantage of the fame and make money!
People just don't spend anywhere near as much money as they used to on music. There's simply no need to these days. So it's not surprising that tours and merchandising are more lucrative.
Well based on the overpriced memorobilia that is found at concerts I would think this is true. However, this may not be true for all bands, especially those who are not on tour a lot. It is just one of the facts of life I htink in today.s music world. With so many people getting free music online or paying minimal download fees, bands have to make their money somehow.
I have family in the music industry so I heard this fact sometime ago. They do it for the enjoyment of it and they are getting to.do.something that love. They do very well financially but they said going into it they knew they would probably not get rich on it but it is a chance they were will to take. After 30 or more years in the industry they are still doing very well.
