Melody Maker magazine quoted Jimi Hendrix in 1969 as saying, “It’s funny the way most people love the dead. Once you are dead you are made for life. You have to die before they think you are worth anything.”
Is that true? You’re worth more dead than alive? Wasn’t that the question that George Bailey (James Stewart) pondered in the movie classic It’s a Wonderful Life?
The value of celebrities’ post-mortem is of particular interest at the New York State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting now taking place in New York City. The Trust and Estates Law Section is conducting a program entitled “Dying for Fame: Exploiting the Right of Publicity in the Age of Celebrity.”
CONSOR Chairman Weston Anson leads the portion that discusses Valuing the Right of Publicity. Many of CONSOR’s own projects are explored during the discussion, including Marlon Brando, Dr. Seuss, Robert Rauschenberg and Audrey Hepburn. Also, think about Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. All estates have been very valuable post-death, and there seems to be no end in the licensing potential of these iconic celebrity brands.
If you’re a celebrity, and you know your estate will be valuable after your eventual death, how much do you prepare to safeguard your name and value?