There are getting to be quite a few these days. Musicians like McCartney, Springsteen, Dylan, Sting, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and more, are reaching Billionaire status these days. Most of them have sold their publishing for $500 million, putting them halfway there, with a lifetime of royalties. Being a Rock Star used to be a great path to serious wealth, when records actually sold in the millions.
Visual artists are another story. I feel sorry for them. They create a beautiful painting, and then sell it for a bit of money. Then that buyer holds it for a few years, and sells it for double, but the artist doesn’t see any of that. All he gets are the proceeds from that initial sale. Being the artist that holds the record for the largest sale by a living artist has got to be rough. Some guy just got $50 mill for a painting that you sold 20 years ago for rent money.
There are getting to be quite a few these days. Musicians like McCartney, Springsteen, Dylan, Sting, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and more, are reaching Billionaire status these days. Most of them have sold their publishing for $500 million, putting them halfway there, with a lifetime of royalties. Being a Rock Star used to be a great path to serious wealth, when records actually sold in the millions.
Visual artists are another story. I feel sorry for them. They create a beautiful painting, and then sell it for a bit of money. Then that buyer holds it for a few years, and sells it for double, but the artist doesn’t see any of that. All he gets are the proceeds from that initial sale. Being the artist that holds the record for the largest sale by a living artist has got to be rough. Some guy just got $50 mill for a painting that you sold 20 years ago for rent money.