Some years ago, David Bowie took his music rights catalogue and future licensing revenues public. He was the very first artist to do so and it was a real innovation then. David Bowie collected roughly US$ 30 Million.
Recently, Annie Leibovitz got into financial trouble. She has given her catalogue and its royalty income as collateral to one of her creditors.
The creditor now is offering Annie Leibovitz’s catalogue and wants to collect US$ 50 Million. But the offers from photo licensing agencies are more like US$ 10 – 15 Million.
The reason for this discrepancy s in the licensing potential. The agencies know better, what to expect and value accordingly.
To all brand owners, considering to sell their brand one day, this should be an alarming signal. And a reason to consider a brand licensing business model.