The Music Industry: Still Profitable (Provided You’re Dead)

jharv | October 30, 2007 10:35 am
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Attention destitute musicians wondering how to make a buck in this mixed-up musical economy: Judging by how many musicians appear in Forbes magazine’s list of the “Top-Earning Dead Celebrities,” the answer might be the dirt nap.

1. Elvis Presley 2. John Lennon 3. Charles M. Schulz 4. George Harrison 5. Albert Einstein 6. Andy Warhol 7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) 8. Tupac Shakur 9. Marilyn Monroe 10. Steve McQueen 11. James Brown 12. Bob Marley 13. James Dean

People are noting Kurt Cobain dropping off the list after taking the top spot in ’06, but considering Nirvana’s catalog is relatively small, relatively un-repackaged (no endless greatest hits compilations or Greatest Ballads-style collections), and relatively static (holler at Tupac), Courtney’s one-time sale of the Cobain songbook last year was always going to be a blip in an otherwise profitable-but-not-crazy-profitable estate. 50 million Elvis fans, people. They are never wrong. And they buy everything.

Top-Earning Dead Celebrities [Forbes via Rolling Stone]