1. Are you familiar with any of the artists mentioned in the third paragraph?
2. Do you agree with Mercuriadis when he says that music sells during both good and bad times? Do I listen to Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' when I get married, and also when I lose my job?
3. Do you use Spotify or a similar service?
4. Do you agree with the opinions expressed in the parentheses below?
a) Mercuriadis says the sweet spot for making money from song rights is buying older music rather than current chart hits. (In other words, modern music is rubbish.)
b) With streaming breathing new life into the industry following more than a decade of plummeting CD sales and piracy, music has got its mojo back. (This is only happening because everyone is replacing their CDs/records with digital forms.)
c) “I can’t play the guitar, I can’t sing a song, I can’t write a song.” (It doesn't matter - you just need to know how to use a computer.)
d) Shares in Hipgnosis have climbed from 100p to 121p since its flotation, and some of the biggest and best-known fund managers – including Investec, Schroders and Aviva – are on the shareholder register. (This is wrong; music is an art form, an expression of humanity - not a commodity to be traded.)
5. Have you ever considered buying shares in a company? Would you invest in Hipgnosis? Who do you think typical Hipgnosis investors are: fans or hard-nosed investors?
6. Have you heard any of the songs from the Hipgnosis-owned list at the end of the article? It seems to be a very US/UK- centric selection of songs. Do you agree?
7. If you were a music mogul in your country, what artists' back catalogues would you attempt to buy? Who would be the most profitable? Who would you invest in for sentimental value? Who would you invest in for maximum returns?
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Situation 1: You are the chairperson of a small investment club (its members are all neighbours/friends). You think that investing in one of these music funds makes great sense.
Convince your investment club partner, your teacher, who has a very conservative outlook on investing, on the wisdom of investing in music.
Situation 2: You are the lead singer of the rock band, St Pete. Your had great success in Russia and Europe in the 70s/80s, but the group split up in the early 90s. Your former manager, your teacher, wants you to sell the song rights to an investment fund. You are worried about your artistic integrity. Make your feelings known.
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Discuss quotes
"Music is spiritual. The music business is not."
- Van Morrison
"When you become a commodity to a record label because you're making them millions of dollars, you can take all of your artistic integrity and throw it out the window."
- Mark McGrath
"The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing."
- Phillip Fisher
“To reap a return in ten years, plant trees. To reap a return in 100, cultivate the people.”
― Ho Chi Minh
“You’ve got to always go back in time if you want to move forward.”
– Snoop Dogg
Student Handout PDF: Gold Music