Universal Music Group is auctioning off a percentage of the royalties to three Michale Graves-era Misfits records: American Psycho (1997), Famous Monsters (1999), and Cuts From The Crypt (2001). The royalties include sales, streaming, and sync rights, and last for the life of the author + 70 years. According to the auction page:
Earnings for this 20-year-old catalog grew year-over-year for the past four years. Last year's total royalties increased by 27% compared to the prior year alone.
This catalog collects royalties from three types of use, but mechanical earnings are the foundation with 83% of last year's total. Public performance royalties follow with 16% of earnings. All three royalty sources grew by double digits or more in the last year, with mechanical earnings increasing by 27% and public performance by 17%.
Royalties for the top three earnings tracks are also growing, by 30% or more in the last year. All were released in 1999 or earlier. The top-earning song "Saturday Night" (1999) — accounts for 38% of last year's returns — an increase of 48% over the prior year.
Last year, this chunk of royalties brought in more than $12,000. Bidding is currently up to $107,200 (as of this writing), and it ends today. So if you want to own a piece of (revivalist) Horror-Punk history, now's your chance.
Misfits Publishing Royalties [Royalty Exchange]
Image: Jonas Rogowski / Wikimedia Commons (CC 3.0)