The Leader podcast: How Brixton’s Bowie posthumously earned £185 million

David Bowie performs live onstage during the Isle of Wight festival (PA)
PA Archive
Rachelle Abbott5 January 2022

David Bowie has posthumously earned his estate what’s reported to be about £185 million ($250 million).

The Starman joins the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner among artists selling the rights to their back catalogues for hundreds of millions.

But why, how does it work, and is there anything in all this for younger artists?

The Evening Standard’s City Editor, Oscar Williams-Grut, dissects Bowie’s mega-deal and discusses how in the 90s, the singer sold his own royalty-backed ‘Bowie Bonds’.

Fans of Brixton’s famous son can also enjoy a month-long celebration of his legacy at the BFI Southbank, with a new show called The Starman and the Silver Screen, showcasing his roles in film and television.

Listen here, or here:

You can find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in