David Bowie Fame and Finance

Case

Author David Allan

Online Pub Date January 02 2018 | Original Pub Date 2018

Subject Finance Brand Management amp Strategy

Level Basic | Type Indirect case | Length 5500 words

Copyright copy David Allan 2018

Organization | Organization size Micro

Region Global | State

Industry Creative arts and entertainment activities

Originally Published in

Publisher SAGE Publications SAGE Business Cases Originals

DOI httpdxdoiorg1041359781526438775 | Online ISBN 9781526438775

copy David Allan 2018

This case was prepared for inclusion in SAGE Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind This case is for scholarly educational or personal use only within your university and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes 2020 SAGE Publications Ltd All Rights Reserved

This content may only be distributed for use within Handelshojskolen httpdxdoiorg1041359781526438775

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 2 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Abstract

David Bowie was more than a man with a band he was a man with a brand and he continually blurred the line between personal and professional leading to both popularity and controversy He was an English singer songwriter and actor for over five decades regarded by critics and musicians as an innovator During his lifetime his record sales estimated at 140 million world-wide made him one of the worldrsquos best-selling music artists In the UK he was awarded nine Platinum album certifications eleven Gold and eight Silver releasing eleven number-one al-bums In the US he received five Platinum seven gold certifications and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 His career significantly influenced popular music and culture and was marked by invention reinvention and visual presentation We can learn many marketing and financing lessons from David Bowie specifically about branding reinvention and innovation

Case

Learning Objectives

bull Show how to build a brand like David Bowie bull Show how to use invention and reinvention in branding bull Show how to maintain a consistent brand while constantly innovating

Introduction

ldquoI wanted to be thought of as someone who was very much a trendy person rather than a trend I didnt want to be a trend I wanted to be the instigator of new ideashellip And so I had to govern everything around that So I pulled myself in and decided to use the easiest medium to start off with ndash which was rock and roll ndash and

to add bits and pieces to it over the years so that by the end of it I was my own mediumrdquo 1 David Bowie declared in a BBC interview Born David Robert Jones (he changed his name to ldquoBowierdquo like the knife so he would not be confused with Davy Jones of the Monkees) on January 8 1947 Like most artists David Bowie started as part of a number of bands He soon determined that he was one of a kind and a solo artist Bowiersquos decision to get into rock music was the result of a conscious search for a way to blend business and creativity Bowie released his first solo album in 1967 and his second album two years later included the songs ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo and ldquoMajor Tomrdquo

By 1972 with ldquoChangesrdquo and ldquoThe Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Marsrdquo album Bowie was ldquoa full-blown rock star with a provocative stage show and a collection of glam-rock gemsrdquo Bowie said the characters he portrayed affected his personal life and drugs became a crippling companion But he continued to work creating ldquoDiamond Dogsrdquo which took its inspiration from George Orwellrsquos ldquoNineteen Eighty-Fourrdquo By including his cover of Eddie Floydrsquos RampB [rhythm and blues] hit ldquoKnock on Woodrdquo on the 1974 ldquoDiamond Dogsrdquo tour Bowie foreshadowed his next incarnation as soul singer a period that brought forth his albums ldquoYoung Americansrdquo in 1975 and ldquoLetrsquos Dancerdquo released eight years later With ldquoLetrsquos Dancerdquo Bowie returned

to pop stardom 2

Bowie died on January 10 2016 after a career that spanned 51 years with over 140 million records sold

worldwide and an estimated net worth of pound135 million 3 In life and ultimately in death David Bowie had a lot

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 3 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

to say and not just with his music (Exhibit 1) Rolling Stone said it best ldquoAs was the case with Miles Davis in jazz David Bowie has come not just to represent his innovations but to symbolize modern rock as an idiom

in which literacy art fashion style sexual exploration and social commentary can be rolled into onerdquo 4 If Michael Jackson was the King of Pop then David Bowie the artist was the King of Reinvention Just when the public thought they knew him he became something else He was Ziggy Stardust then Major Tom and

then The Thin White Duke His sexual 5 and political 6 controversies are well documented even though they seemed to have been overlooked with time and talent Bowiersquos fame was both art and commerce Bowie the artist had hits Bowie the business had hits and misses ldquoDavid Bowie was that rare kind of rock star You didnrsquot have to like his music to admire him Bowie was a business visionary like the ones who shaped Silicon

Valley who just didnrsquot see the point of building companies He was his own greatest productrdquo 7 Both Bowie the artist and the business will be remembered for Bowiersquos mastery of not only reinvention but innovation The Bowie hits will certainly live on as will their revenues After Bowiersquos death with his business manager Bill Zys-blat as the executor his final will was filed in New York Bowiersquos $100 million in assets were distributed to his wife supermodel Iman Abdulmajid Jones (50) their daughter 15-year-old Alexandria (25) and his son from a previous marriage 44-year-old film director Duncan Jones (25) Bowie also left $2 million to Corinne

Schwab his long-time personal assistant and $1 million to his sonrsquos former nanny Marion Skene 8 Music artists like Miles Davis (music movies etc) and Michael Jackson (music [his catalog and that of the Beatles] Cirque du Soleil etc) can make more money in death than they did in life (Exhibit 2) mostly because they are

not around to spend the money 9

Bowie the Brand

Bowiersquos brand was carefully orchestrated ldquoAn essential part of his brand is that he [had] the freedom to com-

pletely transform to combine things in new ways to create things that are unexpectedrdquo 10 He ldquopushed the limits of lsquofamersquo and lsquofashionrsquo writing songs with those titles and also thinking deeply about the possibilities and

strictures of pop renownrdquo 11

When David Bowie is thought of it is traditionally about his music ldquoBowiersquos influence is everywhere not just in music (artists such as Lady Gaga Boy George and Janelle Monaacutee are among many of the indebted) but also

in fashion design and lifestylerdquo 12 The Bowie brand was often invented and reinvented with fashion as the catalyst Bowiersquos music was always theatrically presented by the fashioned persona he felt best represent-ed the music He looked at music as live performance always matching lyrics to fashion While other music artists have used fashion marketing to fit their music it seemed at times as if Bowie used the music to fit the fashion

In a very essential way Mr Bowie helped make fashion writ large ndash fashion the system fashion the pop cul-ture force ndash the ever-mutating megalith we know today Itrsquos why his effect is felt not just in menrsquos wear but in womenrsquos wear too not just in ready-to-wear but in couture from high to low and back again As he wrote in his 1980 song called (what else) ldquoFashionrdquo lsquoListen to me ndash donrsquot listen to meTalk to me ndash donrsquot talk to me

Dance with me ndash donrsquot dance with mersquo 13

Bowie would change with each project like an actor moving to a new play or movie Fashion was an integral part of the Bowie brand It is somewhat surprising that he did not have his own line of clothes possibly be-

cause he was ahead of his time 14 If Bowie had this could have been another source of revenue for his

estate 15 Many artists and celebrities have cashed in on their fame and fashion (Exhibit 3) Bowie was more he was an influencer

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 4 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

He was about the power of the changing look the in-today-out-tomorrow blink-and-yoursquoll-miss-it opportunity to redefine the character that you are playing ndash on stage in life no matter ndash through what you wear He em-bodied the conviction that there was value in constant reinvention and his life and success was proof positive of his belief not just for fans but for the creative community that cared about clothes Though performers and

designers had flirted with transformation before he codified the idea and made it a working principle 16

Bowiersquos branding and reinvention extended to his faith Like Jimi Hendrix Prince and others Bowie always saw a parallel existence between music and religion ldquoAccording to Bowie his state of faith spirituality belief

and even disbelief in a particular period of time often becomes the inspiration for a new music or albumrdquo 17

Bowie was not always religious ldquoDuring his golden years Bowie became one of the most provocative artists in the music industry that questioned and became interested to the deeper meanings of life of sexuality re-

ligion spirituality etcrdquo 18 He never saw any progression towards religion or any inconsistencies ldquoI honestly believe that my initial questions havenrsquot changed at allrdquo he said ldquoThere are far fewer of them these days but theyrsquore really important Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing Itrsquos because Irsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well Irsquom almost an athe-

ist Give me a couple of monthshelliprdquo 19 Bowie saw great similarities in the pursuit of both music and religion ldquoSearching for music is like searching for Godrdquo he said ldquoTheyrsquore very similar Therersquos an effort to reclaim the unmentionable the unsayable the unseeable the unspeakable all those things comes into being a com-

poser and to writing music and to searching for notes and pieces of musical information that donrsquot existrdquo 20

Similarly like Hendrix Bowie saw his death as expressed in his lyrics

ldquoTwo years before he released his ground-breaking debut album ldquoAre You Experiencedrdquo Jimi Hendrix record-ed a self-mythologizing song called ldquoThe Ballad of Jimirdquo that not only elevated the subject of the song (some dude named Jimi) to a sort of heroic status it also predicted his death The slow bluesy cut ndash which Hendrix recorded with RampB artist Curtis Knight ndash never showed up on an album but fans were more than aware of it especially since the song was ldquodedicated to the memory of hellip Jimirdquo Lines like ldquoMany things he would tryFor he knew soon hersquod dierdquo ldquoNow Jimirsquos gone hersquos not aloneHis memory still lives onrdquo and ldquoFive years this he

saidHersquos not gone hersquos just deadrdquo weirdly predict the legendrsquos death and legacy five years laterrdquo 21

In any case he was not alone in forecasting death or contemplating his own past indiscretions mortality and legacy Bowie once said ldquoIrsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well

Irsquom almost an atheist Give me a couple of monthsrdquo 22 Bowie finished what would be his final album Black-star in November 2015 and two months later he was dead In the song ldquoLazarusrdquo from Blackstar he sang ldquoLook up here Irsquom in heavenrdquo What did he want us to see How did he want to be remembered ldquoDavid Bowie will be remembered for his music and style but the late singer is also responsible for an important but

lesser known contribution in another area financerdquo 23

Finance

While Bowiersquos fame appeared to be more art than commerce Bowiersquos actions in finance suggested that he knew he was in the music business He used advertising to promote his music and licensed his music for commercials television shows and movies at a time that many artists did not He was ahead of his time with regard to the financing of his music through what would today be considered ldquocrowdsourcingrdquo (the process of getting work or funding usually online from a crowd of people) and a prelude to 360 deals He was also at the forefront of what today would be considered both social media and ldquostreamingrdquo

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 5 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Advertising

It is not surprising that Bowie embraced marketing His first job was in advertising ldquoAfter leaving school at 16frac12 David joined an advertising agency as a Junior VisualiserPaste Up Artist He joined the Yorkshire based company Nevin D Hirst Advertising at their offices at 98 New Bond Street Westminster London W1S 1SN

He left after four or five months to pursue his musical careerrdquo 24 So he had some early experiencing in the branding world ldquoBefore David Bowie was a rock star from Mars he was an ad man ndash and a branding genius Admittedly he was only in the world of marketing for a year but if his success at standing out is anything to

go by he was quick to learn its lessonsrdquo 25

At the time that Bowie began the use of popular music in advertising would have been considered ldquoselling-

outrdquo 26 At the time many artists were advocating against music listening (see Neil Young ldquoThis Notersquos for Yourdquo) but not Bowie His music licensing (like his controversies) did not adversely affect his brand But Bowie participated in and licensed his music for a variety of commercial enterprises including advertising television

and movies ldquoDavid Bowie was a regular brand collaborator and starred in some unique ad campaignsrdquo 27 In addition to branding himself Bowie licensed his music for advertising of other brands like Pepsi

Of course the biggest advertising stimulus of his music was his death At his death he was still releasing albums Blackstar which was thought to be for his Off-Broadway musical (Lazarus) was his first Number1

album 28 and one of the best albums of 2016 29 Blackstar debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold 181000 units in its first week up 96000 units from his previous albumrsquos first week sales The Next

Day in 2013 30 The revenue has continued ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best- selling album across all

formatsrdquo 31

Crowdsourcing

David Bowie was musically and literally ldquoThe Man Who Sold the Worldrdquo as he was the first artist to sell the future earnings of his music The concept of 360 deals (eg where the artist sells the rights to their songs etc before the fact) was not even considered prior to the 2000s or crowdsourcing (eg GoFundMe) prior to 2006 (first termed by Wire Magazine) Bowie did both

ldquoIn 1997 Bowie sold $55 m of ldquoBowie Bondsrdquo asset-backed securities that were backed by the current and future revenues of the 25 albums he recorded before 1990 Rather than getting steady income from the rev-enues of his back catalogue including records such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Letrsquos Dance the bonds allowed Bowie to borrow more money up front The deal coincided with a licensing agreement allowing EMI to re-release the 25 albums made between 1969 and 1990 ndash with Bowie guaranteed more than 25 per cent of the royalties from wholesale sales in the US Investors received interest

of 79 per cent for the 10-year bondrdquo 32

Bowiersquos assets at the time were worth more than $100 million The bonds carried a 79 interest rate matur-ing in 15 years The Bowie Bonds were issued in stock in $1000-denominations underwritten by David Pull-manrsquos firm Fahnestock amp Company and were rated by three credit agencies at the time Moodyrsquos Standard

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 6 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

amp Poorrsquos and Fitch Bowie allegedly used some of the money to buy out his former manager Tony Defriesrsquo share in his RCA master recordings Owning the masters afforded Bowie the power to decide the fate of his music especially with regard to synchronization rights with advertising Upon Bowiersquos death ldquoThe sources of revenue are increasing even though CD sales are lowerrdquo Pullman said ldquoAs more of Bowiersquos songs are used

the more revenue they generaterdquo he said ldquoAnd after his death itrsquos going to increase as wellrdquo 33

ldquoThe ground-breaking sale of lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo made him the first musician to securitize the royalties from his back catalog which unlike many artists he fully owned His timing was spot-on The deal landed amid Wall Streetrsquos burgeoning fascination with exotic products but before Napster and its ilk crashed sales of record-ed music In 2004 credit-rating firm Moodyrsquos downgraded the lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo themselves citing unexpectedly

weak sales across the record industryrdquo 34 After the 10 years the bonds were completely paid off and the rat-ings withdrawn ldquoBowie didnrsquot choose to sell his royalties because he was in dire financial straits but instead

because he predicted a vast shift in the way the world consumed and sold musicrdquo 35

Streaming

Before there was Napster (1999) Pandora (2000) and Spotify (2006) there was BowieNet Bowie along with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corporation launched BowieNet on Sep-tember 1 1998 It offered the erarsquos standard Internet access and online storage for a $1995 monthly fee But it stood out by promising users a yournamedavidbowiecom email address plus chat forums along with exclusive audio video and photographs For $595 a month anyone who wanted to stick with their old

Internet service provider (ISP) could still access all BowieNet had to offerrdquo 36 BowieNet was both ISP and an interactive fan club (Bowie called himself ldquoSailorrdquo) The interactive fan club aspect was what today would be considered social media by allowing Bowie fans to ldquofollowrdquo Bowie and interact Guinness World Records

named it ldquothe first artist-created Internet service providerrdquo 37 Bowie saw the future of both online music de-livery and social media rdquoBowie was offering his fans a proto-social network four years before Friendster and five years before MySpace That wasnrsquot the first tech innovation Bowie the trendsetter may have foreseen He may well have had the idea for a universal all-you-can-eat music service ndash a so-called celestial jukebox ndash

years before Napster Spotify or Pandora got startedrdquo 38 He told the New York Times in 2002 ldquoI donrsquot even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I donrsquot think itrsquos going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about

music will take place within 10 years and nothing is going to be able to stop itrdquo 39 BowieNet shut down in 2012 Bowie announced its demise on a 2012 Facebook post saying ldquoSome say that it was a Mayan prophe-cy for 2012 and was forever thus Others suggest it may have been deliberate sabotage by gremlins finally successful after a sustained attack over many years hellip Whatever the truth the old BowieNet as we have

known it is kaputrdquo 40 Bowie was ahead of his time ldquoIn the first half of 2016 streaming revenue in the US grew by 57 to $16 bn and worldwide digital revenues overtook those from physical sales for the first time in music industry history mainly because of streaming There are 90 million people signed up to streaming services worldwide and the shift and the aggressive speed at which it has taken place is having the greatest

impact on music since digital downloads were introducedrdquo 41

Final Reinvention

Bowie continues to make money long after his death as Blackstar the album released just before his passing keeps selling The record was Bowiersquos first to reach Number 1 on the Billboard charts Plus his producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone magazine that Bowie had written and recorded at least five songs yet to be

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 7 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

to say and not just with his music (Exhibit 1) Rolling Stone said it best ldquoAs was the case with Miles Davis in jazz David Bowie has come not just to represent his innovations but to symbolize modern rock as an idiom

in which literacy art fashion style sexual exploration and social commentary can be rolled into onerdquo 4 If Michael Jackson was the King of Pop then David Bowie the artist was the King of Reinvention Just when the public thought they knew him he became something else He was Ziggy Stardust then Major Tom and

then The Thin White Duke His sexual 5 and political 6 controversies are well documented even though they seemed to have been overlooked with time and talent Bowiersquos fame was both art and commerce Bowie the artist had hits Bowie the business had hits and misses ldquoDavid Bowie was that rare kind of rock star You didnrsquot have to like his music to admire him Bowie was a business visionary like the ones who shaped Silicon

Valley who just didnrsquot see the point of building companies He was his own greatest productrdquo 7 Both Bowie the artist and the business will be remembered for Bowiersquos mastery of not only reinvention but innovation The Bowie hits will certainly live on as will their revenues After Bowiersquos death with his business manager Bill Zys-blat as the executor his final will was filed in New York Bowiersquos $100 million in assets were distributed to his wife supermodel Iman Abdulmajid Jones (50) their daughter 15-year-old Alexandria (25) and his son from a previous marriage 44-year-old film director Duncan Jones (25) Bowie also left $2 million to Corinne

Schwab his long-time personal assistant and $1 million to his sonrsquos former nanny Marion Skene 8 Music artists like Miles Davis (music movies etc) and Michael Jackson (music [his catalog and that of the Beatles] Cirque du Soleil etc) can make more money in death than they did in life (Exhibit 2) mostly because they are

not around to spend the money 9

Bowie the Brand

Bowiersquos brand was carefully orchestrated ldquoAn essential part of his brand is that he [had] the freedom to com-

pletely transform to combine things in new ways to create things that are unexpectedrdquo 10 He ldquopushed the limits of lsquofamersquo and lsquofashionrsquo writing songs with those titles and also thinking deeply about the possibilities and

strictures of pop renownrdquo 11

When David Bowie is thought of it is traditionally about his music ldquoBowiersquos influence is everywhere not just in music (artists such as Lady Gaga Boy George and Janelle Monaacutee are among many of the indebted) but also

in fashion design and lifestylerdquo 12 The Bowie brand was often invented and reinvented with fashion as the catalyst Bowiersquos music was always theatrically presented by the fashioned persona he felt best represent-ed the music He looked at music as live performance always matching lyrics to fashion While other music artists have used fashion marketing to fit their music it seemed at times as if Bowie used the music to fit the fashion

In a very essential way Mr Bowie helped make fashion writ large ndash fashion the system fashion the pop cul-ture force ndash the ever-mutating megalith we know today Itrsquos why his effect is felt not just in menrsquos wear but in womenrsquos wear too not just in ready-to-wear but in couture from high to low and back again As he wrote in his 1980 song called (what else) ldquoFashionrdquo lsquoListen to me ndash donrsquot listen to meTalk to me ndash donrsquot talk to me

Dance with me ndash donrsquot dance with mersquo 13

Bowie would change with each project like an actor moving to a new play or movie Fashion was an integral part of the Bowie brand It is somewhat surprising that he did not have his own line of clothes possibly be-

cause he was ahead of his time 14 If Bowie had this could have been another source of revenue for his

estate 15 Many artists and celebrities have cashed in on their fame and fashion (Exhibit 3) Bowie was more he was an influencer

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 4 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

He was about the power of the changing look the in-today-out-tomorrow blink-and-yoursquoll-miss-it opportunity to redefine the character that you are playing ndash on stage in life no matter ndash through what you wear He em-bodied the conviction that there was value in constant reinvention and his life and success was proof positive of his belief not just for fans but for the creative community that cared about clothes Though performers and

designers had flirted with transformation before he codified the idea and made it a working principle 16

Bowiersquos branding and reinvention extended to his faith Like Jimi Hendrix Prince and others Bowie always saw a parallel existence between music and religion ldquoAccording to Bowie his state of faith spirituality belief

and even disbelief in a particular period of time often becomes the inspiration for a new music or albumrdquo 17

Bowie was not always religious ldquoDuring his golden years Bowie became one of the most provocative artists in the music industry that questioned and became interested to the deeper meanings of life of sexuality re-

ligion spirituality etcrdquo 18 He never saw any progression towards religion or any inconsistencies ldquoI honestly believe that my initial questions havenrsquot changed at allrdquo he said ldquoThere are far fewer of them these days but theyrsquore really important Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing Itrsquos because Irsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well Irsquom almost an athe-

ist Give me a couple of monthshelliprdquo 19 Bowie saw great similarities in the pursuit of both music and religion ldquoSearching for music is like searching for Godrdquo he said ldquoTheyrsquore very similar Therersquos an effort to reclaim the unmentionable the unsayable the unseeable the unspeakable all those things comes into being a com-

poser and to writing music and to searching for notes and pieces of musical information that donrsquot existrdquo 20

Similarly like Hendrix Bowie saw his death as expressed in his lyrics

ldquoTwo years before he released his ground-breaking debut album ldquoAre You Experiencedrdquo Jimi Hendrix record-ed a self-mythologizing song called ldquoThe Ballad of Jimirdquo that not only elevated the subject of the song (some dude named Jimi) to a sort of heroic status it also predicted his death The slow bluesy cut ndash which Hendrix recorded with RampB artist Curtis Knight ndash never showed up on an album but fans were more than aware of it especially since the song was ldquodedicated to the memory of hellip Jimirdquo Lines like ldquoMany things he would tryFor he knew soon hersquod dierdquo ldquoNow Jimirsquos gone hersquos not aloneHis memory still lives onrdquo and ldquoFive years this he

saidHersquos not gone hersquos just deadrdquo weirdly predict the legendrsquos death and legacy five years laterrdquo 21

In any case he was not alone in forecasting death or contemplating his own past indiscretions mortality and legacy Bowie once said ldquoIrsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well

Irsquom almost an atheist Give me a couple of monthsrdquo 22 Bowie finished what would be his final album Black-star in November 2015 and two months later he was dead In the song ldquoLazarusrdquo from Blackstar he sang ldquoLook up here Irsquom in heavenrdquo What did he want us to see How did he want to be remembered ldquoDavid Bowie will be remembered for his music and style but the late singer is also responsible for an important but

lesser known contribution in another area financerdquo 23

Finance

While Bowiersquos fame appeared to be more art than commerce Bowiersquos actions in finance suggested that he knew he was in the music business He used advertising to promote his music and licensed his music for commercials television shows and movies at a time that many artists did not He was ahead of his time with regard to the financing of his music through what would today be considered ldquocrowdsourcingrdquo (the process of getting work or funding usually online from a crowd of people) and a prelude to 360 deals He was also at the forefront of what today would be considered both social media and ldquostreamingrdquo

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 5 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Advertising

It is not surprising that Bowie embraced marketing His first job was in advertising ldquoAfter leaving school at 16frac12 David joined an advertising agency as a Junior VisualiserPaste Up Artist He joined the Yorkshire based company Nevin D Hirst Advertising at their offices at 98 New Bond Street Westminster London W1S 1SN

He left after four or five months to pursue his musical careerrdquo 24 So he had some early experiencing in the branding world ldquoBefore David Bowie was a rock star from Mars he was an ad man ndash and a branding genius Admittedly he was only in the world of marketing for a year but if his success at standing out is anything to

go by he was quick to learn its lessonsrdquo 25

At the time that Bowie began the use of popular music in advertising would have been considered ldquoselling-

outrdquo 26 At the time many artists were advocating against music listening (see Neil Young ldquoThis Notersquos for Yourdquo) but not Bowie His music licensing (like his controversies) did not adversely affect his brand But Bowie participated in and licensed his music for a variety of commercial enterprises including advertising television

and movies ldquoDavid Bowie was a regular brand collaborator and starred in some unique ad campaignsrdquo 27 In addition to branding himself Bowie licensed his music for advertising of other brands like Pepsi

Of course the biggest advertising stimulus of his music was his death At his death he was still releasing albums Blackstar which was thought to be for his Off-Broadway musical (Lazarus) was his first Number1

album 28 and one of the best albums of 2016 29 Blackstar debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold 181000 units in its first week up 96000 units from his previous albumrsquos first week sales The Next

Day in 2013 30 The revenue has continued ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best- selling album across all

formatsrdquo 31

Crowdsourcing

David Bowie was musically and literally ldquoThe Man Who Sold the Worldrdquo as he was the first artist to sell the future earnings of his music The concept of 360 deals (eg where the artist sells the rights to their songs etc before the fact) was not even considered prior to the 2000s or crowdsourcing (eg GoFundMe) prior to 2006 (first termed by Wire Magazine) Bowie did both

ldquoIn 1997 Bowie sold $55 m of ldquoBowie Bondsrdquo asset-backed securities that were backed by the current and future revenues of the 25 albums he recorded before 1990 Rather than getting steady income from the rev-enues of his back catalogue including records such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Letrsquos Dance the bonds allowed Bowie to borrow more money up front The deal coincided with a licensing agreement allowing EMI to re-release the 25 albums made between 1969 and 1990 ndash with Bowie guaranteed more than 25 per cent of the royalties from wholesale sales in the US Investors received interest

of 79 per cent for the 10-year bondrdquo 32

Bowiersquos assets at the time were worth more than $100 million The bonds carried a 79 interest rate matur-ing in 15 years The Bowie Bonds were issued in stock in $1000-denominations underwritten by David Pull-manrsquos firm Fahnestock amp Company and were rated by three credit agencies at the time Moodyrsquos Standard

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 6 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

amp Poorrsquos and Fitch Bowie allegedly used some of the money to buy out his former manager Tony Defriesrsquo share in his RCA master recordings Owning the masters afforded Bowie the power to decide the fate of his music especially with regard to synchronization rights with advertising Upon Bowiersquos death ldquoThe sources of revenue are increasing even though CD sales are lowerrdquo Pullman said ldquoAs more of Bowiersquos songs are used

the more revenue they generaterdquo he said ldquoAnd after his death itrsquos going to increase as wellrdquo 33

ldquoThe ground-breaking sale of lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo made him the first musician to securitize the royalties from his back catalog which unlike many artists he fully owned His timing was spot-on The deal landed amid Wall Streetrsquos burgeoning fascination with exotic products but before Napster and its ilk crashed sales of record-ed music In 2004 credit-rating firm Moodyrsquos downgraded the lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo themselves citing unexpectedly

weak sales across the record industryrdquo 34 After the 10 years the bonds were completely paid off and the rat-ings withdrawn ldquoBowie didnrsquot choose to sell his royalties because he was in dire financial straits but instead

because he predicted a vast shift in the way the world consumed and sold musicrdquo 35

Streaming

Before there was Napster (1999) Pandora (2000) and Spotify (2006) there was BowieNet Bowie along with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corporation launched BowieNet on Sep-tember 1 1998 It offered the erarsquos standard Internet access and online storage for a $1995 monthly fee But it stood out by promising users a yournamedavidbowiecom email address plus chat forums along with exclusive audio video and photographs For $595 a month anyone who wanted to stick with their old

Internet service provider (ISP) could still access all BowieNet had to offerrdquo 36 BowieNet was both ISP and an interactive fan club (Bowie called himself ldquoSailorrdquo) The interactive fan club aspect was what today would be considered social media by allowing Bowie fans to ldquofollowrdquo Bowie and interact Guinness World Records

named it ldquothe first artist-created Internet service providerrdquo 37 Bowie saw the future of both online music de-livery and social media rdquoBowie was offering his fans a proto-social network four years before Friendster and five years before MySpace That wasnrsquot the first tech innovation Bowie the trendsetter may have foreseen He may well have had the idea for a universal all-you-can-eat music service ndash a so-called celestial jukebox ndash

years before Napster Spotify or Pandora got startedrdquo 38 He told the New York Times in 2002 ldquoI donrsquot even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I donrsquot think itrsquos going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about

music will take place within 10 years and nothing is going to be able to stop itrdquo 39 BowieNet shut down in 2012 Bowie announced its demise on a 2012 Facebook post saying ldquoSome say that it was a Mayan prophe-cy for 2012 and was forever thus Others suggest it may have been deliberate sabotage by gremlins finally successful after a sustained attack over many years hellip Whatever the truth the old BowieNet as we have

known it is kaputrdquo 40 Bowie was ahead of his time ldquoIn the first half of 2016 streaming revenue in the US grew by 57 to $16 bn and worldwide digital revenues overtook those from physical sales for the first time in music industry history mainly because of streaming There are 90 million people signed up to streaming services worldwide and the shift and the aggressive speed at which it has taken place is having the greatest

impact on music since digital downloads were introducedrdquo 41

Final Reinvention

Bowie continues to make money long after his death as Blackstar the album released just before his passing keeps selling The record was Bowiersquos first to reach Number 1 on the Billboard charts Plus his producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone magazine that Bowie had written and recorded at least five songs yet to be

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 7 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

He was about the power of the changing look the in-today-out-tomorrow blink-and-yoursquoll-miss-it opportunity to redefine the character that you are playing ndash on stage in life no matter ndash through what you wear He em-bodied the conviction that there was value in constant reinvention and his life and success was proof positive of his belief not just for fans but for the creative community that cared about clothes Though performers and

designers had flirted with transformation before he codified the idea and made it a working principle 16

Bowiersquos branding and reinvention extended to his faith Like Jimi Hendrix Prince and others Bowie always saw a parallel existence between music and religion ldquoAccording to Bowie his state of faith spirituality belief

and even disbelief in a particular period of time often becomes the inspiration for a new music or albumrdquo 17

Bowie was not always religious ldquoDuring his golden years Bowie became one of the most provocative artists in the music industry that questioned and became interested to the deeper meanings of life of sexuality re-

ligion spirituality etcrdquo 18 He never saw any progression towards religion or any inconsistencies ldquoI honestly believe that my initial questions havenrsquot changed at allrdquo he said ldquoThere are far fewer of them these days but theyrsquore really important Questioning my spiritual life has always been germane to what I was writing Itrsquos because Irsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well Irsquom almost an athe-

ist Give me a couple of monthshelliprdquo 19 Bowie saw great similarities in the pursuit of both music and religion ldquoSearching for music is like searching for Godrdquo he said ldquoTheyrsquore very similar Therersquos an effort to reclaim the unmentionable the unsayable the unseeable the unspeakable all those things comes into being a com-

poser and to writing music and to searching for notes and pieces of musical information that donrsquot existrdquo 20

Similarly like Hendrix Bowie saw his death as expressed in his lyrics

ldquoTwo years before he released his ground-breaking debut album ldquoAre You Experiencedrdquo Jimi Hendrix record-ed a self-mythologizing song called ldquoThe Ballad of Jimirdquo that not only elevated the subject of the song (some dude named Jimi) to a sort of heroic status it also predicted his death The slow bluesy cut ndash which Hendrix recorded with RampB artist Curtis Knight ndash never showed up on an album but fans were more than aware of it especially since the song was ldquodedicated to the memory of hellip Jimirdquo Lines like ldquoMany things he would tryFor he knew soon hersquod dierdquo ldquoNow Jimirsquos gone hersquos not aloneHis memory still lives onrdquo and ldquoFive years this he

saidHersquos not gone hersquos just deadrdquo weirdly predict the legendrsquos death and legacy five years laterrdquo 21

In any case he was not alone in forecasting death or contemplating his own past indiscretions mortality and legacy Bowie once said ldquoIrsquom not quite an atheist and it worries me Therersquos that little bit that holds on Well

Irsquom almost an atheist Give me a couple of monthsrdquo 22 Bowie finished what would be his final album Black-star in November 2015 and two months later he was dead In the song ldquoLazarusrdquo from Blackstar he sang ldquoLook up here Irsquom in heavenrdquo What did he want us to see How did he want to be remembered ldquoDavid Bowie will be remembered for his music and style but the late singer is also responsible for an important but

lesser known contribution in another area financerdquo 23

Finance

While Bowiersquos fame appeared to be more art than commerce Bowiersquos actions in finance suggested that he knew he was in the music business He used advertising to promote his music and licensed his music for commercials television shows and movies at a time that many artists did not He was ahead of his time with regard to the financing of his music through what would today be considered ldquocrowdsourcingrdquo (the process of getting work or funding usually online from a crowd of people) and a prelude to 360 deals He was also at the forefront of what today would be considered both social media and ldquostreamingrdquo

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 5 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Advertising

It is not surprising that Bowie embraced marketing His first job was in advertising ldquoAfter leaving school at 16frac12 David joined an advertising agency as a Junior VisualiserPaste Up Artist He joined the Yorkshire based company Nevin D Hirst Advertising at their offices at 98 New Bond Street Westminster London W1S 1SN

He left after four or five months to pursue his musical careerrdquo 24 So he had some early experiencing in the branding world ldquoBefore David Bowie was a rock star from Mars he was an ad man ndash and a branding genius Admittedly he was only in the world of marketing for a year but if his success at standing out is anything to

go by he was quick to learn its lessonsrdquo 25

At the time that Bowie began the use of popular music in advertising would have been considered ldquoselling-

outrdquo 26 At the time many artists were advocating against music listening (see Neil Young ldquoThis Notersquos for Yourdquo) but not Bowie His music licensing (like his controversies) did not adversely affect his brand But Bowie participated in and licensed his music for a variety of commercial enterprises including advertising television

and movies ldquoDavid Bowie was a regular brand collaborator and starred in some unique ad campaignsrdquo 27 In addition to branding himself Bowie licensed his music for advertising of other brands like Pepsi

Of course the biggest advertising stimulus of his music was his death At his death he was still releasing albums Blackstar which was thought to be for his Off-Broadway musical (Lazarus) was his first Number1

album 28 and one of the best albums of 2016 29 Blackstar debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold 181000 units in its first week up 96000 units from his previous albumrsquos first week sales The Next

Day in 2013 30 The revenue has continued ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best- selling album across all

formatsrdquo 31

Crowdsourcing

David Bowie was musically and literally ldquoThe Man Who Sold the Worldrdquo as he was the first artist to sell the future earnings of his music The concept of 360 deals (eg where the artist sells the rights to their songs etc before the fact) was not even considered prior to the 2000s or crowdsourcing (eg GoFundMe) prior to 2006 (first termed by Wire Magazine) Bowie did both

ldquoIn 1997 Bowie sold $55 m of ldquoBowie Bondsrdquo asset-backed securities that were backed by the current and future revenues of the 25 albums he recorded before 1990 Rather than getting steady income from the rev-enues of his back catalogue including records such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Letrsquos Dance the bonds allowed Bowie to borrow more money up front The deal coincided with a licensing agreement allowing EMI to re-release the 25 albums made between 1969 and 1990 ndash with Bowie guaranteed more than 25 per cent of the royalties from wholesale sales in the US Investors received interest

of 79 per cent for the 10-year bondrdquo 32

Bowiersquos assets at the time were worth more than $100 million The bonds carried a 79 interest rate matur-ing in 15 years The Bowie Bonds were issued in stock in $1000-denominations underwritten by David Pull-manrsquos firm Fahnestock amp Company and were rated by three credit agencies at the time Moodyrsquos Standard

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 6 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

amp Poorrsquos and Fitch Bowie allegedly used some of the money to buy out his former manager Tony Defriesrsquo share in his RCA master recordings Owning the masters afforded Bowie the power to decide the fate of his music especially with regard to synchronization rights with advertising Upon Bowiersquos death ldquoThe sources of revenue are increasing even though CD sales are lowerrdquo Pullman said ldquoAs more of Bowiersquos songs are used

the more revenue they generaterdquo he said ldquoAnd after his death itrsquos going to increase as wellrdquo 33

ldquoThe ground-breaking sale of lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo made him the first musician to securitize the royalties from his back catalog which unlike many artists he fully owned His timing was spot-on The deal landed amid Wall Streetrsquos burgeoning fascination with exotic products but before Napster and its ilk crashed sales of record-ed music In 2004 credit-rating firm Moodyrsquos downgraded the lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo themselves citing unexpectedly

weak sales across the record industryrdquo 34 After the 10 years the bonds were completely paid off and the rat-ings withdrawn ldquoBowie didnrsquot choose to sell his royalties because he was in dire financial straits but instead

because he predicted a vast shift in the way the world consumed and sold musicrdquo 35

Streaming

Before there was Napster (1999) Pandora (2000) and Spotify (2006) there was BowieNet Bowie along with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corporation launched BowieNet on Sep-tember 1 1998 It offered the erarsquos standard Internet access and online storage for a $1995 monthly fee But it stood out by promising users a yournamedavidbowiecom email address plus chat forums along with exclusive audio video and photographs For $595 a month anyone who wanted to stick with their old

Internet service provider (ISP) could still access all BowieNet had to offerrdquo 36 BowieNet was both ISP and an interactive fan club (Bowie called himself ldquoSailorrdquo) The interactive fan club aspect was what today would be considered social media by allowing Bowie fans to ldquofollowrdquo Bowie and interact Guinness World Records

named it ldquothe first artist-created Internet service providerrdquo 37 Bowie saw the future of both online music de-livery and social media rdquoBowie was offering his fans a proto-social network four years before Friendster and five years before MySpace That wasnrsquot the first tech innovation Bowie the trendsetter may have foreseen He may well have had the idea for a universal all-you-can-eat music service ndash a so-called celestial jukebox ndash

years before Napster Spotify or Pandora got startedrdquo 38 He told the New York Times in 2002 ldquoI donrsquot even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I donrsquot think itrsquos going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about

music will take place within 10 years and nothing is going to be able to stop itrdquo 39 BowieNet shut down in 2012 Bowie announced its demise on a 2012 Facebook post saying ldquoSome say that it was a Mayan prophe-cy for 2012 and was forever thus Others suggest it may have been deliberate sabotage by gremlins finally successful after a sustained attack over many years hellip Whatever the truth the old BowieNet as we have

known it is kaputrdquo 40 Bowie was ahead of his time ldquoIn the first half of 2016 streaming revenue in the US grew by 57 to $16 bn and worldwide digital revenues overtook those from physical sales for the first time in music industry history mainly because of streaming There are 90 million people signed up to streaming services worldwide and the shift and the aggressive speed at which it has taken place is having the greatest

impact on music since digital downloads were introducedrdquo 41

Final Reinvention

Bowie continues to make money long after his death as Blackstar the album released just before his passing keeps selling The record was Bowiersquos first to reach Number 1 on the Billboard charts Plus his producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone magazine that Bowie had written and recorded at least five songs yet to be

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 7 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Advertising

It is not surprising that Bowie embraced marketing His first job was in advertising ldquoAfter leaving school at 16frac12 David joined an advertising agency as a Junior VisualiserPaste Up Artist He joined the Yorkshire based company Nevin D Hirst Advertising at their offices at 98 New Bond Street Westminster London W1S 1SN

He left after four or five months to pursue his musical careerrdquo 24 So he had some early experiencing in the branding world ldquoBefore David Bowie was a rock star from Mars he was an ad man ndash and a branding genius Admittedly he was only in the world of marketing for a year but if his success at standing out is anything to

go by he was quick to learn its lessonsrdquo 25

At the time that Bowie began the use of popular music in advertising would have been considered ldquoselling-

outrdquo 26 At the time many artists were advocating against music listening (see Neil Young ldquoThis Notersquos for Yourdquo) but not Bowie His music licensing (like his controversies) did not adversely affect his brand But Bowie participated in and licensed his music for a variety of commercial enterprises including advertising television

and movies ldquoDavid Bowie was a regular brand collaborator and starred in some unique ad campaignsrdquo 27 In addition to branding himself Bowie licensed his music for advertising of other brands like Pepsi

Of course the biggest advertising stimulus of his music was his death At his death he was still releasing albums Blackstar which was thought to be for his Off-Broadway musical (Lazarus) was his first Number1

album 28 and one of the best albums of 2016 29 Blackstar debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts and sold 181000 units in its first week up 96000 units from his previous albumrsquos first week sales The Next

Day in 2013 30 The revenue has continued ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best- selling album across all

formatsrdquo 31

Crowdsourcing

David Bowie was musically and literally ldquoThe Man Who Sold the Worldrdquo as he was the first artist to sell the future earnings of his music The concept of 360 deals (eg where the artist sells the rights to their songs etc before the fact) was not even considered prior to the 2000s or crowdsourcing (eg GoFundMe) prior to 2006 (first termed by Wire Magazine) Bowie did both

ldquoIn 1997 Bowie sold $55 m of ldquoBowie Bondsrdquo asset-backed securities that were backed by the current and future revenues of the 25 albums he recorded before 1990 Rather than getting steady income from the rev-enues of his back catalogue including records such as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Letrsquos Dance the bonds allowed Bowie to borrow more money up front The deal coincided with a licensing agreement allowing EMI to re-release the 25 albums made between 1969 and 1990 ndash with Bowie guaranteed more than 25 per cent of the royalties from wholesale sales in the US Investors received interest

of 79 per cent for the 10-year bondrdquo 32

Bowiersquos assets at the time were worth more than $100 million The bonds carried a 79 interest rate matur-ing in 15 years The Bowie Bonds were issued in stock in $1000-denominations underwritten by David Pull-manrsquos firm Fahnestock amp Company and were rated by three credit agencies at the time Moodyrsquos Standard

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 6 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

amp Poorrsquos and Fitch Bowie allegedly used some of the money to buy out his former manager Tony Defriesrsquo share in his RCA master recordings Owning the masters afforded Bowie the power to decide the fate of his music especially with regard to synchronization rights with advertising Upon Bowiersquos death ldquoThe sources of revenue are increasing even though CD sales are lowerrdquo Pullman said ldquoAs more of Bowiersquos songs are used

the more revenue they generaterdquo he said ldquoAnd after his death itrsquos going to increase as wellrdquo 33

ldquoThe ground-breaking sale of lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo made him the first musician to securitize the royalties from his back catalog which unlike many artists he fully owned His timing was spot-on The deal landed amid Wall Streetrsquos burgeoning fascination with exotic products but before Napster and its ilk crashed sales of record-ed music In 2004 credit-rating firm Moodyrsquos downgraded the lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo themselves citing unexpectedly

weak sales across the record industryrdquo 34 After the 10 years the bonds were completely paid off and the rat-ings withdrawn ldquoBowie didnrsquot choose to sell his royalties because he was in dire financial straits but instead

because he predicted a vast shift in the way the world consumed and sold musicrdquo 35

Streaming

Before there was Napster (1999) Pandora (2000) and Spotify (2006) there was BowieNet Bowie along with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corporation launched BowieNet on Sep-tember 1 1998 It offered the erarsquos standard Internet access and online storage for a $1995 monthly fee But it stood out by promising users a yournamedavidbowiecom email address plus chat forums along with exclusive audio video and photographs For $595 a month anyone who wanted to stick with their old

Internet service provider (ISP) could still access all BowieNet had to offerrdquo 36 BowieNet was both ISP and an interactive fan club (Bowie called himself ldquoSailorrdquo) The interactive fan club aspect was what today would be considered social media by allowing Bowie fans to ldquofollowrdquo Bowie and interact Guinness World Records

named it ldquothe first artist-created Internet service providerrdquo 37 Bowie saw the future of both online music de-livery and social media rdquoBowie was offering his fans a proto-social network four years before Friendster and five years before MySpace That wasnrsquot the first tech innovation Bowie the trendsetter may have foreseen He may well have had the idea for a universal all-you-can-eat music service ndash a so-called celestial jukebox ndash

years before Napster Spotify or Pandora got startedrdquo 38 He told the New York Times in 2002 ldquoI donrsquot even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I donrsquot think itrsquos going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about

music will take place within 10 years and nothing is going to be able to stop itrdquo 39 BowieNet shut down in 2012 Bowie announced its demise on a 2012 Facebook post saying ldquoSome say that it was a Mayan prophe-cy for 2012 and was forever thus Others suggest it may have been deliberate sabotage by gremlins finally successful after a sustained attack over many years hellip Whatever the truth the old BowieNet as we have

known it is kaputrdquo 40 Bowie was ahead of his time ldquoIn the first half of 2016 streaming revenue in the US grew by 57 to $16 bn and worldwide digital revenues overtook those from physical sales for the first time in music industry history mainly because of streaming There are 90 million people signed up to streaming services worldwide and the shift and the aggressive speed at which it has taken place is having the greatest

impact on music since digital downloads were introducedrdquo 41

Final Reinvention

Bowie continues to make money long after his death as Blackstar the album released just before his passing keeps selling The record was Bowiersquos first to reach Number 1 on the Billboard charts Plus his producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone magazine that Bowie had written and recorded at least five songs yet to be

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 7 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

amp Poorrsquos and Fitch Bowie allegedly used some of the money to buy out his former manager Tony Defriesrsquo share in his RCA master recordings Owning the masters afforded Bowie the power to decide the fate of his music especially with regard to synchronization rights with advertising Upon Bowiersquos death ldquoThe sources of revenue are increasing even though CD sales are lowerrdquo Pullman said ldquoAs more of Bowiersquos songs are used

the more revenue they generaterdquo he said ldquoAnd after his death itrsquos going to increase as wellrdquo 33

ldquoThe ground-breaking sale of lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo made him the first musician to securitize the royalties from his back catalog which unlike many artists he fully owned His timing was spot-on The deal landed amid Wall Streetrsquos burgeoning fascination with exotic products but before Napster and its ilk crashed sales of record-ed music In 2004 credit-rating firm Moodyrsquos downgraded the lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo themselves citing unexpectedly

weak sales across the record industryrdquo 34 After the 10 years the bonds were completely paid off and the rat-ings withdrawn ldquoBowie didnrsquot choose to sell his royalties because he was in dire financial straits but instead

because he predicted a vast shift in the way the world consumed and sold musicrdquo 35

Streaming

Before there was Napster (1999) Pandora (2000) and Spotify (2006) there was BowieNet Bowie along with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corporation launched BowieNet on Sep-tember 1 1998 It offered the erarsquos standard Internet access and online storage for a $1995 monthly fee But it stood out by promising users a yournamedavidbowiecom email address plus chat forums along with exclusive audio video and photographs For $595 a month anyone who wanted to stick with their old

Internet service provider (ISP) could still access all BowieNet had to offerrdquo 36 BowieNet was both ISP and an interactive fan club (Bowie called himself ldquoSailorrdquo) The interactive fan club aspect was what today would be considered social media by allowing Bowie fans to ldquofollowrdquo Bowie and interact Guinness World Records

named it ldquothe first artist-created Internet service providerrdquo 37 Bowie saw the future of both online music de-livery and social media rdquoBowie was offering his fans a proto-social network four years before Friendster and five years before MySpace That wasnrsquot the first tech innovation Bowie the trendsetter may have foreseen He may well have had the idea for a universal all-you-can-eat music service ndash a so-called celestial jukebox ndash

years before Napster Spotify or Pandora got startedrdquo 38 He told the New York Times in 2002 ldquoI donrsquot even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years because I donrsquot think itrsquos going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about

music will take place within 10 years and nothing is going to be able to stop itrdquo 39 BowieNet shut down in 2012 Bowie announced its demise on a 2012 Facebook post saying ldquoSome say that it was a Mayan prophe-cy for 2012 and was forever thus Others suggest it may have been deliberate sabotage by gremlins finally successful after a sustained attack over many years hellip Whatever the truth the old BowieNet as we have

known it is kaputrdquo 40 Bowie was ahead of his time ldquoIn the first half of 2016 streaming revenue in the US grew by 57 to $16 bn and worldwide digital revenues overtook those from physical sales for the first time in music industry history mainly because of streaming There are 90 million people signed up to streaming services worldwide and the shift and the aggressive speed at which it has taken place is having the greatest

impact on music since digital downloads were introducedrdquo 41

Final Reinvention

Bowie continues to make money long after his death as Blackstar the album released just before his passing keeps selling The record was Bowiersquos first to reach Number 1 on the Billboard charts Plus his producer Tony Visconti told Rolling Stone magazine that Bowie had written and recorded at least five songs yet to be

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 7 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

released ldquoZysblat is likely to be one of the chief decision-makers on when and how to release that music a key step in keeping the Bowie legacy alive Posthumous business has the potential to be a huge money-mak-er for artistsrsquo estates but it always risks being perceived as tacky or exploitative Naturally someone who has worked extensively with an artist is more informed about what the artist would have wanted his post-death

career to look likerdquo 42 At the 59th Grammy awards on February 12 2017 Bowie posthumously won his first Grammys since a 1985 Best Video Short Form Blackstar won Best Rock Performance (ldquoBlackstarrdquo) Best

Alternative Music Album and Best Engineered Album Non-Classical and Best Rock Song 43

The Bowie brand lives on 44 ldquoSince his death Bowiersquos albums have managed combined sales of around 162 m ndash including physical sales downloads and streaming equivalents ndash while his singles have managed 187 m combined sales Heroes alone has been streamed 883 m times since his death and downloaded 50000 times Itrsquos not surprising Blackstar should be the most popular Bowie album of the last year However itrsquos perhaps more telling that the next three albums on the Official Charts Companyrsquos list were all compilations ndash Best of Bowie Nothing Has Changed The Very Best of and Legacy Only after them do his other original albums feature with the list dominated by his 70s classics Blackstar proved to be the best-selling album on

vinyl in the UK in 2016 with 54000 copies It was the sixth best-selling album across all formatsrdquo 45 Forbesrsquo 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities has David Bowie at number eleven with $105 million (Exhibit 2)

Upon Bowiersquos death Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi of the Vaticanrsquos Council for Culture tweeted ldquoGround Control to Major Tom commencing countdown engines on check ignition and may Godrsquos love be with you David Bowierdquo quoting the lyrics of the artistrsquos 1969 hit ldquoSpace Oddityrdquo It is yet another reminder of Bowiersquos fame But what did he leave us besides music and memory How did Bowie brand himself How did he use that brand to innovate especially in finance Why didnrsquot he get a backlash for his branding (Thin White Duke etc) or his financing (licensing) Why didnrsquot Bowie have his own clothing line Finally what lessons in branding reinvention and innovation can be translated into today specifically and what artists are following Bowiersquos footsteps of fame and finance

Discussion Questions

1 What lessons in branding can be learned from Bowie 2 How did Bowie use reinvention while maintaining a consistent brand 3 What role should innovation play in branding 4 What marketing and innovation lessons can be learned from David Bowie 5 Compare and contrast the branding strategy of a contemporary artist with David Bowie

Further Reading

Huba J (2013) Monster loyalty How Lady Gaga turns followers into fanatics New York NY Portfolio Jones S (2011) Brand like a rock star Lessons from rock lsquonrsquo roll to make your business rich and famous Austin TX Greenleaf McCrorey D (2011) Innovation in a reinvented world 10 essential elements to succeed in the new world of business Chichester UK Wiley Passman D (2015) All you need to know about the music business New York NY Simon and Schuster Pegg N (2011) The complete David Bowie London UK Titan

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 8 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

SAGEcopy David Allan 2018

SAGE Business Cases

Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

Further Media

bull Bowie D Blackstar Columbia Records 2016 bull Pennebaker D E Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Miramax Films 1973

References

1 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

2 Jim Fusilli David Bowie (1947ndash2016) Stardust in the Wind The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 ac-cessed February 8 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-1947-2016-stardust-in-the-wind-1452550399

3 Tom Espiner lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo ndash the Singerrsquos Financial Innovation BBC News January 11 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbbccomnewsbusiness-35280945

4 Greg Tate Hours Rolling Stone October 28 2015 accessed January 15 2016 wwwrollingstonecommusicalbumreviewshours-19991028

5 Nicki Gostin David Bowiersquos sex life bent the rules too New York Daily News January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwnydailynewscomentertainmentmusicdavid-bowie-dead-69-sex-life-bent-rules-article-12492561

6 Dan Bloom What were David Bowieamps political views How pop legend kept many opinions a mystery until his death Mirror January 11 2016 accessed March 24 2017 httpwwwmirrorcouknewsuk-newswhat-were-david-bowies-political-7155816

7 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert The business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brand Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotri-bunecombusiness

8 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

9 Zack OrsquoMalley Greenburg The Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Of 2016 Forbes October 12 2016 ac-cessed February 7 2017 httpswwwforbescomsiteszackomalleygreenburg20161012the-highest-paid-dead-celebrities-of-20163d75bba911b1

10 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

11 Jon Pareles David Bowie Dies at 69 Star Transcended Music Art and Fashion The New York Times January 11 2016 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwnytimescom20160112artsmusicdavid-bowie-dies-at-69html_r=1

12 Ruth Blatt How to Lead Like Bowie Thoughts on the lsquoDavid Bowie Isrsquo Exhibition Forbes September 18 2014 accessed April 10 2017 httpswwwforbescomsitesruthblatt20140918how-to-lead-like-david-bowie-thoughts-on-the-david-bowie-is-exhibition235bd74b53e2

13 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed

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Page 9 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

January 16 2016 wwwnytimescom20160114fashiondavid-bowies-fashion-legacyhtml_r=0

14 Gregory DelliCarpini Jr 10 Musicians with Clothing Lines Are Rihanna Beyonce Pharrell and More Hot or Cold Billboard February 6 2014 accessed February 7 2017 wwwbillboardcomarticlescolumnsthe-hook590095710-musicians-with-clothing-lines-are-rihanna-beyonce-pharrell-and

15 Hayley Phelan How Fashion Became Musicamps New Income Stream Billboard September 11 2015 accessed February 7 2017 httpwwwbillboardcomarticlesnews6693279fashion-music-clothing-brands-style-income-business

16 Vanessa Friedman David Bowiersquos Fashion Legacy The New York Times January 12 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwnytimescom20160114fashiondavid-bowies-fashion-legacyhtml_r=0

17 Jimmy Shalet David Bowie dead British rock legend beat Napster to online music with BowieNet In-ternational Business Times January 12 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwibtimescoukdavid-bowie-provided-online-music-much-before-napster-1537378

18 Jimmy Shalet David Bowie dead British rock legend beat Napster to online music with BowieNet In-ternational Business Times January 12 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwibtimescoukdavid-bowie-provided-online-music-much-before-napster-1537378

19 Jimmy Shalet David Bowie dead British rock legend beat Napster to online music with BowieNet In-ternational Business Times January 12 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwibtimescoukdavid-bowie-provided-online-music-much-before-napster-1537378

20 Rebecca Merriman David Bowie didnrsquot lsquofear deathrsquo after turning to God following terminal cancer diagno-sis Mirror January 13 2016 accessed August 5 2016 wwwmirrorcouk3amcelebrity-newsdavid-bowie-didnt-fear-death-7169844

21 Michael Gallucci (2014) Jimi Hendrix ndash Famous Musicians Who Correctly Predicted Their Own Deathrdquo Ultimate Class Rock httpultimateclassicrockcomjimi-hendrix-musicians-predicted-their-deaths

22 Anthony DeCurtis Im Not Quite an Atheist and It Worries Me beliefnet accessed December 30 2016 wwwbeliefnetcomentertainment200507im-not-quite-an-atheist-and-it-worries-measpxB2YQxd0J76IR-BIYH99

23 Gillian B White David Bowie Musical Innovator Financial Innovator The Atlantic January 11 2016 ac-cessed March 31 2017 httpswwwtheatlanticcombusinessarchive201601david-bowie-bonds-banking423627

24 Frequently Asked Questions Bowiewonderworld httpwwwbowiewonderworldcomfaqhtm

25 Claire Fallon David Bowie Branding Lessons from Rockrsquos Original Chameleon Brandchannel April 29 2015 accessed February 9 2017 httpbrandchannelcom20150429david-bowie-branding

26 David Allan An Essay on Popular Music in Advertising The Bankruptcy of Culture or the Marriage of Art and Commerce Advertising amp Society Review (2005)

Advertising amp Society Review Advertising Educational Foundation Web 11 February 2010 httpmusejhuedujournalsasrv00661allanhtml

27 Abe Sauber A Comprehensive History of David Bowie in Commercials Brandchannel January 11 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwbrandchannelcom20160111david-bowie-commercials-011116

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Page 10 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

28 Keith Caulfield David Bowiersquos lsquoBlackstarrsquo Album Debuts at No 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Billboard Janu-ary 17 2016 accessed December 29 2016 wwwbillboardcomarticlescolumnschart-beat6844036david-bowie-blackstar-album-debuts-no-1-on-billboard-200-charts

29 Christopher R Weingarten Jon Dolan Jon Freeman Brittany Spanos Joseph Hudak Mosi Reeves Kory Grow Keith Harris Richard Gehr Maura Johnston Patrick Doyle Joe Levy Andy Greene and Rob Sheffield 50 Best Albums of 2016 Rolling Stone November 28 2016 accessed December 29 2016 wwwrolling-stonecommusiclists50-best-albums-of-2016-w451265

30 Keith Caulfield David Bowiersquos lsquoBlackstar Album Debuts at No 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Billboard January 17 2016 accessed January 18 2017 wwwbillboardcomarticlescolumnschart-beat6844036david-bowie-blackstar-album-debuts-no-1-on-billboard-200-charts

31 Fabrice Coffrini Bowies Blackstar outsold classic albums in year after he died The Guardian January 12 2017 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwtheguardiancommusic2017jan12bowie-blackstar-outsold-classic-albums-in-year-after-he-died

32 Peter Campbell lsquoBowie Bondsrsquo blazed a trail through capital markets The Financial Times January 11 2016 accessed January 19 2017 httpswwwftcomcontentad21c6e2-b851-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb

33 Jim Boulden David Bowie made financial history with music bond CNN Money January 11 2016 ac-cessed January 12 2017 httpmoneycnncom20160111mediabowie-bonds-royalties

34 Tommy Stubbington and Mike Bird David Bowie The Man Who Sold the Worldhellipand Bonds The Wall Street Journal January 11 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwwsjcomarticlesdavid-bowie-the-man-who-sold-the-worldand-bonds-1452542807

35 Gillian B White David Bowie Musical Innovator Financial Innovator The Atlantic January 11 2016 ac-cessed March 31 2017 httpswwwtheatlanticcombusinessarchive201601david-bowie-bonds-banking423627

36 Marc Hogan Behind David Bowiersquos Pioneering Internet Service BowieNet Where the lsquoSailorrsquo Was Known to Roam Billboard January 12 2016 accessed January 19 2017 httpwwwbillboardcomarticlesbusi-ness6842796bowienet-david-bowie-pioneering-online-fan-club-isp

37 Lily Hay Newman Remember when David Bowie launched his own internet service provider Slate Janaury 11 2016 accessed March 31 2017 httpwwwslatecomblogsfuture_tense20160111bowienet_david_bowie_s_early_internet_service_providerhtm

38 Leonid Bershidsky and Mark Gilbert ldquoThe business of being David Bowie From Bowie bonds to Bowienet a visionary and a brandrdquo Chicago Tribune January 11 2016 accessed March 27 2017 httpwwwchicagotribunecombusiness

39 Jimmy Shalet David Bowie dead British rock legend beat Napster to online music with BowieNet In-ternational Business Times January 12 2016 accessed January 16 2016 wwwibtimescoukdavid-bowie-provided-online-music-much-before-napster-1537378

40 Lily Hay Newman Remember when David Bowie launched his own internet service provider Slate Janaury 11 2016 accessed March 31 2017 httpwwwslatecomblogsfuture_tense20160111bowienet_david_bowie_s_early_internet_service_providerht

41 Hannah Ellis-Petersen Music streaming hailed as industryamps saviour as labels enjoy profit surge The Guardian December 29 2016 accessed December 30 2016 httpswwwtheguardiancomtechnology

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Page 11 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance

2016dec29music-streaming-industry-saviour-labels-spotify-apple-music

42 Jessica Contrera This man will be responsible for David Bowiersquos money The Washington Post January 31 2016 accessed January 12 2017 httpswwwwashingtonpostcomnewsarts-and-entertainmentwp20160131this-man-will-be-responsible-for-david-bowies-money-and-musicutm_term=b8f6dc6f19f0

43 Daniel Kreps ldquoGrammys 2017 Adele Chance the Rapper Beyonce Dominaterdquo Rolling Stone February 132017 accessed February 13 2017 httpwwwrollingstonecommusicnewsgrammys-2017-adele-chance-the-rapper-beyonce-dominate-w466589utm_source=newsletteramputm_medium=emailamputm_con-tent=dailyamputm_campaign=021317_08

44 Bowie Legacy httplegacydavidbowiecom

45 Fabrice Coffrini Bowiersquos Blackstar outsold classic albums in year after he died The Guardian January 12 2017 accessed February 7 2017 httpswwwtheguardiancommusic2017jan12bowie-blackstar-out-sold-classic-albums-in-year-after-he-died

httpdxdoiorg1041359781526438775

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Page 12 of 12David Bowie Fame and Finance