Just joined (this forum) and was trying to find out about where and what Deaccy's up to now (not that it's any of my business really.... t.b.c.) and searching the internet a bit before I get to p'eed off (can you swear on this forum?) - turns out he's minted - no shock there - but I can't believe he's escaped the media's attention for so long especially after having appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List......(Don't the journalists follow up on the ones that suddenly disappear from the list as well as the ones that suddenly appear?)
The search for a bit of an update led me down the jumbled and murky world of finances. Now, I've been a fan of Queen since 1975 ish and first saw them live in 1978 but the scale of their financial success just confounds and confuses me - massively! I can't work it out in my head!! My first Queen ticket cost £4.00 for Wembley Empire Pool and I guess there were about 5 to 8000 there, so that's about 20-50k in receipts, less the costs of, I guess, 10-15K (?) At the time, I think an album (NOTW) cost about £3 each (bargain!) - Can anyone workout how, in the 2000's and onwards, Queen and the individual members started and continue to "earn" millions each and every year? Yes, I know when we talk about sales, there are worldwide numbers to take into consideration, but to be fair, Queen "lost" America in the 80's, so that must make a huge dent on those figures and I bet piracy in their other makets made an equally huge dent.....
My guess would be that once you got a few million in the 70's & 80's you REALLY did get that endowment payout that we normal folk are still trying to pay off and balance now??
(Classic first post I reckon!)
"At the time, I think an album (NOTW) cost about £3 each (bargain!) "
Not a bargain relative to the time though is it? Its like saying why didn't Queen sell tickets at the time for 100 quid each because anyone on this site would pay that now to see them. Queen, Deacon in particular were very shrewd business men and no doubt invested their earning wisely (property, publishing etc..)
A HUGE amount of their earnings in recent years come from the musical which has probably now been seen by hundreds of thousands, if not a million+ people paying a ridiculous amount for a ticket.
Royalties from radio have gotta contribute a sizable amount too. Think of the number of times a day in every country that Queen are played. Has to be a lot I reckon.
The 4 individual members were earning close to £1million a year each from as early as the late 70's, a HUGE amount of money at the time, they even spent a few years in the Guinness book of records for being the highest paid company director's. Imagine how much £1m in 1978 would be in 2013!
I actually think the estimations in the rich list are a little conservative
Queen's Greatest Hits is one of the biggest selling records/CDs of all time.
Bit of a daft question really: why are members of one of the world's biggest rock bands wealthy?
Also, ever heard of inflation? £3.00 in the 1980s isn't the same as £3.00 now.
mooghead wrote:
"At the time, I think an album (NOTW) cost about £3 each (bargain!) "
Not a bargain relative to the time though is it? Its like saying why didn't Queen sell tickets at the time for 100 quid each because anyone on this site would pay that now to see them. Queen, Deacon in particular were very shrewd business men and no doubt invested their earning wisely (property, publishing etc..)
A HUGE amount of their earnings in recent years come from the musical which has probably now been seen by hundreds of thousands, if not a million+ people paying a ridiculous amount for a ticket.
3 pounds from 1978 in modern money (considering inflation and all) is between 13 and 22 pounds today.
mooghead wrote:
"At the time, I think an album (NOTW) cost about £3 each (bargain!) "
Not a bargain relative to the time though is it? Its like saying why didn't Queen sell tickets at the time for 100 quid each because anyone on this site would pay that now to see them. Queen, Deacon in particular were very shrewd business men and no doubt invested their earning wisely (property, publishing etc..)
A HUGE amount of their earnings in recent years come from the musical which has probably now been seen by hundreds of thousands, if not a million+ people paying a ridiculous amount for a ticket.
3 pounds from 1978 in modern money (considering inflation and all) is between 13 and 22 pounds today.
Which is I guess about the price of a CD at a supermarket (£13) or HMV (£22). Why DID HMV go bust anyway???