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Deceased Musicians Making a Killing in Sales

It's a morbid concept, but dying can be a pretty solid way for an artist to give their career a proverbial shot in the arm. As PopEater points out, dead musicians are raking in the big bucks these days, exemplified by the recent death of Michael Jackson and the rampant buying of his back catalog.

As far as rock 'n' rollers go, it's been difficult to top Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, whose estate managed to rake in $50 million dollars in 2006 alone. Alongside licensing deals that have kept Nirvana's music in the limelight, another solid way to build revenue is by reissuing some of the back catalog or releasing out a rare live recording. Both of those will happen next month for Nirvana, as Sub Pop will reissue the band's first album, 'Bleach,' as a 20th anniversary expanded edition and their performance from the 1992 Reading Festival, which has made the rounds in bootleg circles for years, will finally get a proper release on CD and DVD.

Of course, video games are another solid way to stretch the output in today's fickle market. As everyone knows, the Beatles' recent foray into the 'Rock Band' world was met with a frenzy, but possibly not as much as the recent reissue of the group's entire catalog. Audiophiles love when this happens, but as the success of the Beatles remasters indicates, so do everyday folks, as well.

Sometimes an artist's career doesn't even start until they're dead. Recall Eva Cassidy, who was relatively unknown while alive but received strong airplay after her death and wound up a near platinum-selling artist posthumously. Other artists like Jim Morrison, Johnny Cash and Notorious B.I.G. are enjoying a fruitful afterlife, thanks to hit biopics.

We can't even imagine what would happen if any of the merchandising magnates in Kiss died. But at least they're prepared -- they've already been selling the Kiss Kasket for years.

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pres coronel

Nirvana!!! Kurt was the bestest there was and was to come :D

November 02 2009 at 4:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kevin

kinda turns my stomach....don't know exactly why. But it has alot to do with being an ambulance chaser type mentality. Not so bad if the profits go to the family....eg; micheal jackson being exploited like crazy now. Almost makes you suspicious toward media corp priorities and how dark conspiracies could easily be whipped up in the back room. These people are worth more DEAD, than alive....any connection to the doctor? hmmmmm. whatever. They're in a whole different world now with a set of new problems, eh?

November 02 2009 at 2:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tricia

It's sad how these people can't see the legacy they left behind. The fact that people still buy their music and merchandise years after they've passed just illustrates how amazing they were while they were alive.

October 29 2009 at 3:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply