How much is Katy Perry worth?
January 1, 2012 4:05 PM Subscribe
How much is Katy Perry worth? Is there any realistic way to calculate how much she got paid for what she produced? (Not the exact amount, but presumably we ought to be able to get the order of magnitude right.)
It doesn't have to be Katy Perry, but for example: she has had a number of top hits recently. In 2011, it seemed like every time I walked into a casino, etc., or turned on the radio, I heard one of her songs. Doesn't she get paid some fractional amount every time one of her songs is played in certain venues? How much did she get paid for the original contract, for her appearances in videos, for her concerts, etc.? I'm curious -- does anybody know anything about how the industry standard works? Presumably we ought to be able to produce an estimate that is good enough for government work.
It doesn't have to be Katy Perry, but for example: she has had a number of top hits recently. In 2011, it seemed like every time I walked into a casino, etc., or turned on the radio, I heard one of her songs. Doesn't she get paid some fractional amount every time one of her songs is played in certain venues? How much did she get paid for the original contract, for her appearances in videos, for her concerts, etc.? I'm curious -- does anybody know anything about how the industry standard works? Presumably we ought to be able to produce an estimate that is good enough for government work.
Best answer: Is there any realistic way for any random MeFite to calculate Katy Perry's worth? No, because the "industry standard" is Everything Is Up For Negotiation. Plus, as private contracts, the terms are usually fairly closely guarded secrets.
Doesn't she get paid some fractional amount every time one of her songs is played in certain venues? These are Performance Royalties. Which is only one type of royalty an artist may be able to collect, and while there's a legal minimum rate, higher rates can certainly be negotiated.
Often performers don't get paid to be in videos - the record label considers videos an important part of marketing and promotion. It'll pay off in increased record sales & royalties, but the artist isn't actually getting cash to show up & lip-sync in front of a camera.
On the other hand, they often get paid to perform on the various late-night talk shows.
Concert income can be just as complex as royalties. While there's a certain minimum guarantee an artist may require, there's almost always a clause where the promoter & the artist will split any gross over a certain $ amount. What the split percentages are and when they kick in is totally open to negotiation, and will depend very heavily on where they're performing - Iowa City's a totally different market than New York City. Artists often report their gross concert sales to pollstar, but the costs associated with a live performance can vary greatly, and the actual net income is another closely guarded secret.
How much entertainers get paid for what they do can be very very very complicated and every artist's contract(s) is/are different. If you're really interested in learning how the music industry works, try finding a copy of This Business of Music.
And then there's her income from her perfume line, and her commercial work for Adidas & others.
TL;DR: Forbes can come up with a pretty good guesstimate of how much Katy Perry earned this year (probably using inside information and educated guesses from industry experts and a lot of painstaking research in various entertainment trade publications), but there's no real way for a member of the general public to figure this out, and no real way sort out how much she gets from each of her many & varied sources of income.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:57 PM on January 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
Doesn't she get paid some fractional amount every time one of her songs is played in certain venues? These are Performance Royalties. Which is only one type of royalty an artist may be able to collect, and while there's a legal minimum rate, higher rates can certainly be negotiated.
Often performers don't get paid to be in videos - the record label considers videos an important part of marketing and promotion. It'll pay off in increased record sales & royalties, but the artist isn't actually getting cash to show up & lip-sync in front of a camera.
On the other hand, they often get paid to perform on the various late-night talk shows.
Concert income can be just as complex as royalties. While there's a certain minimum guarantee an artist may require, there's almost always a clause where the promoter & the artist will split any gross over a certain $ amount. What the split percentages are and when they kick in is totally open to negotiation, and will depend very heavily on where they're performing - Iowa City's a totally different market than New York City. Artists often report their gross concert sales to pollstar, but the costs associated with a live performance can vary greatly, and the actual net income is another closely guarded secret.
How much entertainers get paid for what they do can be very very very complicated and every artist's contract(s) is/are different. If you're really interested in learning how the music industry works, try finding a copy of This Business of Music.
And then there's her income from her perfume line, and her commercial work for Adidas & others.
TL;DR: Forbes can come up with a pretty good guesstimate of how much Katy Perry earned this year (probably using inside information and educated guesses from industry experts and a lot of painstaking research in various entertainment trade publications), but there's no real way for a member of the general public to figure this out, and no real way sort out how much she gets from each of her many & varied sources of income.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:57 PM on January 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
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That doesn't mean she has $10 million in cash in the bank; presumably she has other, ongoing expenses (mortgage, credit card debt, maybe tax liens, etc.).
Long story short, though we can determine fairly accurately what she earned, we don't know what her net worth is.
posted by dfriedman at 4:17 PM on January 1, 2012 [4 favorites]