How Music Artists Used Their Platforms For Success In Other Industries
Many of us grew up with the notion that music artists were extremely rich, powerful, and desired by the general public. While this is true for many artists, the varying levels of these attributes wasn’t fully understood. More specifically, in comparison with famed figures in other industries, we have come to understand that artists make significantly less. In order to understand this, we can look at music artists who have transitioned into other industries.
A prime example of this realization is Rihanna. Rihanna burst into the music business with her 2005 hit “Pon De Replay.” While she’s been a music artist for well over a decade, it’s interesting to look at how much money she made as an artist. It was reported that in 2016, she made a little over 22 million dollars from her music. Now, it would be disingenuous to ignore her tour revenue, since it is a part of being a music artist. For instance, her “Diamonds” tour garnered over 130 million dollars in revenue. While this is a ludicrous amount of money that anyone might wish for, some might be surprised by how it compares to her earnings within the beauty industry.
In 2018, her Fenty Beauty brand generated 570 million dollars in revenue. Yes, you read that correctly. For perspective, in the same amount of time that it took her to make 22 million dollars from her music catalog, she made 570 million dollars. Also, instead of going on a world wide tour to generate 130 million dollars in revenue, she generated 570 million dollars from Fenty Beauty. For both music fans and the artist, it’s eye-opening to see observe how much money can be made in different industries.
While we’ve dissected the difference in money, it also boils down to financial stability for that artist. If Rihanna decides to retire from music, she will have other means of making a significant amount of money. Like Kanye West and Jay Z, she holds stake in her company. Ultimately, artists like Rihanna, Jay Z, Kanye, Puff Daddy, and more, might inspire a new generation of artists to push past music and venture into different industries.