Jack White Sells as Morrissey Shops: What Two Iconic Catalogs Reveal About Music Asset Value

Last week, 2 salient alternate stone artists made headlines: Jack White sold a involvement successful his copyrights to Sony Music Group, portion Morrissey announced plans to merchantability his own.

Although White’s assorted philharmonic projects make commercialized enactment comparable to The Smiths’ catalog, according to Luminate data, he’s apt to bask a larger payout than Morrissey — adjacent if the second succeeds successful selling his music. That’s due to the fact that White owns his maestro recordings, and The Smiths don’t.

The Smiths averaged 471,000 medium depletion units annually successful the U.S. from 2022 done 2024, outperforming The White Stripes, who averaged 302,000 units per twelvemonth during the aforesaid period. But erstwhile income and streaming from White’s different projects are added successful — 128,000 units for his solo catalog, 48,000 units for The Raconteurs and a small much than 8,000 units for The Dead Weather, Luminate information shows — the combined full is somewhat larger than The Smiths’ catalog, coming to an yearly mean of 486,000 medium depletion units implicit that aforesaid period.

But erstwhile it comes to planetary on-demand streaming, The Smiths person a overmuch bigger presence, annually averaging 1.43 cardinal plays implicit the past 3 years, versus White’s combined yearly mean of 1.1 cardinal plays. However, White’s catalog is overmuch stronger successful vinyl, wherever each merchantability delivers a immense payday — frankincense offsetting the larger gross that The Smiths’ oversized streaming show delivers. 

Using Luminate data, manufacture wholesale pricing and extrapolated percentages for planetary activity, Billboard estimates that White’s combined recorded maestro revenues and The Smiths’ recorded catalog each averaged astir $11 cardinal to $12 cardinal annually betwixt 2022 and 2024.

Furthermore, Billboard estimates — extrapolated by utilizing manufacture publishing gross percentages for licensing gross not derived from recorded masters enactment — that the signaling catalogs of The Smiths and the corporate projects of White each brought successful astir $4 cardinal successful full publishing royalties annually implicit that aforesaid three-year period.

But determination the similarities betwixt the 2 catalogs end.

As noted, White owns his recordings, either wholly or, successful the lawsuit of The White Stripes, a 50% stake, with Meg White owning the different fractional of that band’s recorded maestro catalog, according to sources. The Smiths’ maestro recordings are presently owned by Warner Music Group, which acquired them from the band’s archetypal label, Rough Trade, successful the 1990s, according to sources and caller reports. Consequently, White realizes a overmuch bigger chunk of gross — perchance up to 80% aft distribution and marketing fees are subtracted but earlier royalties paid to set members — from the commercialized enactment generated by his assorted activities arsenic a signaling artist.

Meanwhile, arsenic a subordinate of The Smiths, Morrissey apt receives astir one-quarter of the band’s royalties. Considering grounds contracts backmost successful the 1980s and 1990s, the set is fortunate if it was receiving a 25% rate, so Morrissey’s instrumentality would magnitude to astir 4.25% of full revenue. Morrissey’s bigger payday would apt travel from publishing, arsenic helium co-wrote each of The Smiths’ songs with guitarist Johnny Marr. If the 2 stock ownership of the publishing rights, each is entitled to 50% of the gross it generates, aft deducting medication fees. But adjacent if they don’t ain their publishing, the publishing royalties are lone divided 2 ways, truthful they inactive apt present a bigger payday to Morrissey than his creator royalties. 

That brings up different quality betwixt what White whitethorn person sold to Sony versus what Morrissey hopes to sell. In Morrissey’s case, helium is not conscionable looking to merchantability publishing and recorded masters income, but, according to a station connected his website entitled “A Soul For Sale,” helium indicates helium intends to merchantability “all of his concern interests successful The Smiths… including afloat and exclusive rights to” the band’s name, artwork, merchandising rights, synchronization rights, songs, recordings and publishing. He wrote that The Smiths’ s...