They may well be one of American music’s most iconic acts but it seems Nirvana are no friend to the advertising industry with their back catalogue earning much less than predicted.
Since Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994 his image and music has only grown in popularity. With his portrait available on hoodies across the planet, fans can now read Cobain’s diaries as well as listen to remastered versions of his albums.
Cobain’s music was owned outright by Courtney Love, who was forced to sell a stake in the back catalogue due to financial difficulties. Three years ago Primary Wave bought a 50% share for a reported $50 million.
However since then it seems the company has seen little return on its advance. A report in Conde Nast Portfolio says that Primary Wave have only earned $2.3 million on licenses.
Apparently Guitar Hero paid $50,000 for one Nirvana song. By way of contrast, the company paid $5 million for 24 songs by Aerosmith. Equally Primary Wave has had difficulty licensing the band’s songs to film and television, earning only an estimated $480,000 from this.
The Jonas Brothers, however, earned $1 million for 105 licenses in 2008 alone.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said: “Nirvana was so revolutionary that it’s very difficult to match different projects, and there are tons of iconic groups that allow their music to be utilised.”
