Here is a video by Forbes, featuring Zach O'Malley Greenburg. The name of the video is A Look at Whitney Houston's Financial Life After Death.
Whitney Houston was the greatest singer to ever sing. My opinion......... I believe that we can’t take away what Whitney Houston has has given us, which is the gift of her beautiful voice. Her catalog is one that will make Sony Music a billion dollars in the future.
In one week since her death, Whitney Houston’s catalog has sold 900,000 downloads and CD sales. She has 41 songs in the iTunes top 100. I have looked at Billboard charts in just about every country that has a top 100, and Whitney Houston has at least 5 to 15 songs in the top 100.
My thoughts on Whitney Houston’s royalties are the biggest concern for me. What kind of structure was set in place for Houston as far as her contract is concerned? Did she own a portion of the publishing even though she did not write the songs she sung? Did she get publishing due to her status and record sales history?
Let’s look at what we can assume about her contract. Houston for her part, most likely had a superstar royalty rate clause in her contract, which generally pays anywhere from 18% to 25% of the sales price minus the label’s fixed costs, depending on how her representatives negotiated the final agreement with Sony BMG. (RapRehab, 2012)
The value to Houston, or rather her estate is somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 to $500 million, depending on whether she owned her catalog or was signed as a regular artist as it is believed. When you own your catalog, you license it to the major companies like Sony BMG Music and you can retain 80% to 90% of the revenue. When you are signed simply as an artist, the record label pays you a royalty rate and sometimes gives you an advance against royalties. (RapRehab, 2012)
Had she owned her masters (the final finished project recorded), she would have seen five times as much because her estate would then just license the songs or masters to Sony.
This post was inspired by an interview I saw on CNN with James L Walker Jr., speaking about Whitney Houston’s estate and how much money it will make. She was an international treasure and I personally loved al of her music. No matter what people say about her, “You take away her dignity” as she stated in the song “The Greatest Love Of All”. She had a beautiful funeral and I will miss her and most definitely support her estate by buying her music and movies.
(n.a.)(February 25, 2012) Top 100 Music Hits. Retrieved from:
http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100 - /charts/hot-100
(Walker Jr., James L)(n.d.) Sony Could Earn A Billion Off Whitney Houston’s Catalog And Movies. Retrieved on February 19, 2012 from:
http://raprehab.com/2012/02/sony-could-earn-a-billion-off-whitney-houstons-catalog-and-movies/
(Nakashima, R.)(February 5, 2012) Whitney Houston Estate to Gain; Questions Remain. Retrieved from Associated Press on February 19, 2012 from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/whitney-houston-estate-gain-questions-remain-15613213#.T0FUAsrxobQ
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