John Lennon – Business is booming
Thirty years after his murder/assassination, John Lennon’s legacy is less about the music and more and more about the money. Fueled by collectors, fans, his family and his native Liverpool.
Lennon came fifth in Forbes magazine’s annual list of the top dead earners, with an annual income of $16 million, add that to the $650 million fortune inherited by his wife, Yoko Ono. The Lennon franchise includes heritage trails; museums; exhibitions – and sales – of his doodlings; the repackaging of his back catalog; a thriving business in tribute acts and musicals; biopics; and friends and relatives keeping the name alive.
One million people visit Liverpool each year to follow the Beatles trail. They will spend about $75 million, and the figure doesn’t take into account numbers for the two-month Tribute Season in the city to mark the 70th anniversary of Lennon’s birth in October and the anniversary of his death this week.
Two million Beatles songs were sold on iTunes in the first week of their release last month. Last year the remastered Beatles CDs sold 2.25 million copies within days of release, while sales of Beatles music for the Rock Band game topped 1.7 million within four months of its release. Lennon’s solo back catalog was also released in remastered form in October.
There are three musicals featuring Lennon’s music currently in production. Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles is in the middle of a 12-week run on Broadway; Cirque du Soleil’s Love – acrobatic performances to the music of the Beatles – is at the Mirage in Las Vegas; and The Sessions, a new musical about the early Abbey Road recording sessions, is to have a preview in Liverpool on Friday.
A search for John Lennon in the books section of Amazon brings up 5,000 results. The most recent tome, Life, Times and Assassination, suggests he was killed by the CIA.
Is there anybody want to listen to my story . . .
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I had a great deal of respect for John Lennon and his music but I liked Elvis much more…