5. John McVie
The Fleetwood Mac bass player is the only member of the band not to sell his shares in the band’s songs. Could be just a matter of time, though.
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6. Bob Seger
Seger knows how much money can be made from licensing songs. Chevy used Like a Rock for their pick-up truck commercials for years and Old Time Rock’n’Roll has been put to work many, many times beyond its original release. He’s already had his farewell tour and turns 77 in May.
7. Steve Miller
He’s had only had a half-dozen major hits, but these songs — such as The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, and Swingtown — are still staples of rock radio. Is it time to (ahem) take the money and run?
8. Noel Gallagher
As the band’s primary songwriter, he continues to make far, far more money than any other member of Oasis. His net worth is estimated to be around US$70 million, which is a lot. But it could be a lot more should he decide to sell. But as a resident of the U.K., he might not enjoy the same tax advantages as someone in the U.S.
9. U2
U2 not only owns their own publishing but also their own master recordings. Bono and The Edge are each worth at least US$700 million right now with the other two guys not far behind for an estimated total of US$1.8 billion. Sell? Why?
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10. The Beatles
The Great White Whale, but it’s never, ever going to happen. The value of any song catalogue is determined by looking at its average annual revenue and then assigning a multiple (5x, 10x, 20x) to that number. If the stories are true about Springsteen’s catalogue being valued at 30x leading to a purchase price of US$550 million, then we can do some back-of-the-napkin to determine what The Beatles catalogue might fetch. My calculations put things at a minimum US$2 billion.
But Macca’s never going to sell. It took too long for him to reclaim his music after losing it back in the 1960s. And with a net worth of at least £800 million ($1.4 billion in Canada), he’s probably OK. John’s estate is worth about US$200 million while George’s sits at about £100 million ($172 million). Heck, even Ringo’s got US$350 million. No one is in any hurry to sell anything.
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Alan Cross is a broadcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.
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