Could you "retire" off of royalties from one hit song?

RE: Every Breath You Take

That riff is a huge part of the song, which Andy Summers wrote. I wonder if at some time he felt a little robbed.

 

As soon as I write one I'll tell you.

 

Carole Kaye wrote the main riff on bass for "Midnight Confession". Steve Barri took her out of the writing. P.F. Sloan got murdered on riffs not credited.

 

Speaking of which, Stewart Copeland agrees with you....

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjr0P-JwKbmAhXOEcAKHeo-BWMQFjAQegQICRAB&url=https://classicrock1011.radio.com/blogs/the-stoneman/stewart-copeland-feels-andy-summers-deserves-royalties-for&usg=AOvVaw34GXq6ghI0ilhk2sOzsqH4

 

Can´t see it:
This site isn't currently available in the EU

 

Reg Presley of The Troggs was able to spend his Golden Years chasing UFO's and researching crop circles because of the massive success of Wet Wet Wet's cover version of "Love Is All Around", which spent an astounding 15 weeks at the top of the UK charts and was featured in the movie "Four Weddings And A Funeral".
He talks a bit about it here:

 

For What It’s Worth probably has made enough that Stephen Stills grandkids wont have to work

 

I read in an interview that Robbie van Leeuwen from Shocking Blue can live from the royalties of Venus, especially since Bananarama covered it.

 

In case there's any doubt that publishing is where the $$ is, along with merchandise and live shows.

Back in 1999 Iron Maiden got into the bond market.

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden has launched its first hit on the bond market, selling securities worth $30m that are backed by the flow of royalties from recordings made during a 20 year career.

The band is effectively taking out a $30m loan and promises to pay back its creditors through future earnings - a financial tool called 'securitisation'.

Iron Maiden, the band released its first album in 1980, has sold a massive 45m records so far, and investors believe that song titles like 'Axe attack', 'Bring your daughter to the slaughter' and 'No prayer for the dying' ensure that the money will keep rolling in - with interest payments added.

In return lead singer Blaze Bayley, bass player Steve Harris, drummer Nick McBain and guitarists Janick Gers and Steve Harris can enjoy the fruits of their noisy work right now, without having to wait years until the money arrives in their bank accounts.

and two years earlier David Bowie

Two years ago, music bonds looked set to become the next big fashion on the bond market, when UK rock icon David Bowie 'securitised' his future earnings in exchange for $55m, to be paid back in 10 years time.

In fact, the enduring popularity of the 'thin white Duke' is so high that analysts at Moody's, a ratings agency, gave David Bowie's bond their highest accolade, a triple-A rating. In return the artist had to pay less interest on his loan issue.

BBC News | The Economy | Iron Maiden rocks the bond market

 

Not sure what happened, anyway I cut and pasted the relevant bit for you. This interview is just a few days old, on the internet anyway...


Over 35 years after "Every Breath You Take" took the charts by storm, Police drummer Stewart Copeland thinks guitarist Andy Summers deserves a bit more credit for the song's success. Copeland was publicizing the new Police box set Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings, and chatted with Classic Pop magazine about the band's biggest hit, which topped the charts for a whopping eight weeks and snagged the band the 1984 Grammy for Record Of The Year.

Copeland explained, "The demo was obviously a hit, but it was nothing like the current version, as Sting was singing the chords over a Hammond organ. Andy went, 'Guys, hello? We're a guitar band?' Andy is truly clever with harmony and worked out the song's arpeggiated guitar figure. One of our favorite in-band riffs is that, when Puff Daddy sampled 'Every Breath You Take' on 'I'll Be Missing You,' he sampled Andy's guitar figure, not the melody or the lyrics. Me and Andy go, ' Go on Sting, pay Andy his royalties,' and Sting will say, 'Okay Andy, here you are. . . ' Not reaching anywhere near his wallet."

 

You may thank the GDPR law for that, use a VPN and you can manoeuvre around those pesky blocks.

 

I'm pretty sure that there is an arrangement with Sting in which Summers gets a share of Every breath You take. Mentioned in a documentary or TV show IIRC.

 

Yes I thought that as well, I am pretty sure that I read it somewhere or watched it as part of a programme.
I am wondering if it was a BBC4 programme, and maybe the one about the 20 most successful songs or something like that.

 

Stills made little for years off his Buffalo Springfield tunes. A 5 way split with the band on every song was Springaloo Music, then their terrible managers got their % with Ten-East Music, then Atlantic got theirs: Cotillion Music...leaves not much in the BMI/ACSCAP checks. He was left with near nothing or as Neil said reprinting his owed songwriting royalties in the box set: "I've been buffaloed". I think he bought the big hit later with his Gold Hill Music Company. He later had major money problems with the usual stuff to blame so he may have sold it.

 

Deservedly so; they bring joy to many of us each and every year.

 

Just a little off topic, and obviosly not a songwriter (that I know of), but Michael Tretow, the engineer that was at the helm for most of ABBA's recordings, gets 2% of all sales of ABBA albums sold. Someone correct me if I may be wrong about my facts, as that is what I heard. with the shear number of ABBA recordings sold, the money Mr. Tretow makes on this generous royalty would make other engineers enveous........JIM

 

One songwriter which comes to mind is Randy Weeks, whose hit song 'Can't Let Go' was the only cover recorded by Lucinda Williams on her Grammy Award winning album "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road."

This song also appeared on the Jack Frost motion picture soundtrack CD. This was a film starring Michael Keaton.

Weeks was also contributed vocals to Dwight Yoakam's albums "Under The Covers" and "Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room." Randy's country-rock group The Lonesome Strangers were part of the L.A. scene alongside other bands such as Los Lobos, The Blasters and X. Yoakam's guitarist Pete Anderson acted as producer for The Lonesome Strangers' studio albums.

Written by Randy Weeks, 'Can't Let Go' has also been covered by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa.

Randy Weeks performing live at Amoeba Music

 

Apparently Claude François' family still earns about $1 million a year from the royalties of "My Way". That doesn't take into account the royalties of all the covers of the French original. So I guess it's possible.

 

Michael B. Tretow wrote, recorded and released his own material as a solo artist back in 1966 and put out a string of singles and EPs in the late 60s. He had a bit of a side gig by putting out quite popular novelty records during as well as after ABBA not to mention doing film music and theme songs for radio and TV.

 

Great thread. Rock Star Economics is fascinating.

On a similar note, my friend's great uncle had a Dixieland-like band back in the day. They recorded a version of When the Saints Come Marching In which was a hit in Germany in the 50s.

Around once a year, he get's a residual check as he is the living heir at this point. A whopping $22.00 or so.

His wife likes to hunt for copies on eBay.

 

NG lives 'round the corner from me in Santa Rosa, Ca. Big fan, of course.

His driver w/him in the passenger seat had a deadly car accident a few years back in our neighborhood.

I googled but couldn't find an article stating how much he makes from the tune other than 10k per "high profile placement".

 

It apparently worked for Don McLean.

 

Dick James Music owns Reg's "Love Is All Around", for many years.

 

Leonard Cohen’s heirs and their children will have a comfortable life because of Hallelujah.

The time factor is another interesting consideration: according to legend, it took Jimmy Webb approximately five minutes to compose Didn’t We.

I’m pretty sure that one song would have set him up for life, though cover versions are less frequent nowadays than they once were.

 

Didn't Leonard get financially destroyed?