00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the musical groups and
00:08members of those groups whose financial successes have frequently been tempered with struggle.
00:1910. Goo Goo Dolls
00:22These alt-rockers learn the hard way that a multi-platinum album, even one as big as Dizzy
00:28Up The Girl, doesn't instantly make you a millionaire.
00:35The Goo Goo Dolls signed a standard yet highly restrictive record contract early in their
00:40career, one that saw the band having to pay back huge advances to their label for recording costs,
00:46music videos, and tour promotion.
00:52Frontman Johnny Resnick openly admitted that despite selling millions of copies of Dizzy
00:57Up The Girl, the band was practically broke when the tour ended because they were still
01:01trying to dig themselves out of debt to Warner Bros. records.
01:109. Norman Greenbaum
01:13You might not recognize his name immediately, but you absolutely know his biggest hit, the 1969
01:19psychedelic classic, Spirit in the Sky.
01:29The Norman Greenbaum track has been featured in dozens of major Hollywood movies, TV shows,
01:35and commercials.
01:39That said, you might assume that Greenbaum is swimming in lucrative royalties. And that would be
01:45partially true. The track has generated enough revenue to facilitate a living for Greenbaum.
01:50But a series of predatory management and publishing deals early in his career meant that he didn't see
01:56the full value of those songwriting royalties for decades.
02:00We weren't necessarily cheated, it was just the way it worked.
02:04The musician even wound up having to take odd jobs, working as a sous chef in restaurants to make
02:09ends meet while his song continued to play on the radio.
02:178. The Isley Brothers
02:23They helped set the architectural foundations for modern R&B, soul, and funk, and have been sampled
02:30by everyone from Notorious B.I.G. to Kendrick Lamar. Yet despite decades of hit-making and undeniable
02:37legacy, the financial history of the Isley Brothers is a turbulent roller coaster of massive debt
02:43and legal battles. The group struggled heavily with the IRS, culminating in a series of tax liens
02:49and financial mismanagement issues. Lead singer Ronald Isley was even sentenced to more than three
02:59years in federal prison in 2006 for tax evasion. When you factor in decades of dividing earnings among
03:06multiple band members, fighting over publishing rights, and dealing with massive government back
03:11taxes, their net worth is shockingly modest for a group of their legendary stature.
03:207. Twisted Sister
03:22We're Not Gonna Take It and I Wanna Rock are definitive anthems of hair metal, generating numerous
03:29licensing deals for movies, sports stadiums, and political rallies.
03:36Yet, Twisted Sister's frontman Dee Snider has been incredibly candid about the fleeting nature of
03:42that rock star wealth. Twisted Sister initially disbanded in 1988, shortly after Snider departed the
03:49group, with the latter quickly burning through his earnings due to heavy spending and a lack of
03:54financial literacy. Snider was completely broke by the early 90s, declaring bankruptcy and taking
04:00a job answering phones at a dial-up internet company for a regular salary.
04:05Now I'm doing a little bookkeeping. I'm riding a bicycle because I didn't have a car.
04:09Licensing has since helped stabilize his finances, while the other band members never attained the
04:15permanent generational wealth of peers like Motley Crue or Def Leppard.
04:246. Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones
04:28He was the virtuoso lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones during what many consider their golden era,
04:35playing on definitive albums like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street.
04:43However, Mick Taylor was an uncredited contributor to the songwriting process,
04:48which meant he didn't receive the lucrative publishing royalties pocketed by Mick Jagger and
04:53Keith Richards. Taylor went solo in 74, effectively walking away from the Stones' corporate machine.
05:00It really wasn't a big deal to me, to me, leaving the Stones.
05:05Taylor would face severe financial hardships and health crises in subsequent decades,
05:11with some tabloids frequently reporting on him living in a modest run-down cottage in England,
05:17highlighting the staggering financial disparity between a former Stone and his billionaire bandmates.
05:295. Cass McCombs
05:31Cass McCombs is widely revered by music critics and fellow artists as one of the greatest singer-songwriters of his
05:39generation.
05:47He routinely sells out mid-sized venues, and his albums receive rave reviews from outlets like Pitchfork,
05:53and Rolling Stone. But critical adoration doesn't pay the rent.
05:58McCombs represents the harsh reality of the modern independent musician.
06:07In the era of streaming, where platforms pay fractions of a cent per play, mid-tier indie darlings
06:14often live paycheck to paycheck. McCombs has been vocal about the grueling economics of touring,
06:19where skyrocketing costs for gas, hotels, and crew eat up almost all of merchandise and ticket profits.
06:27For artists like McCombs, music is a labor of love that yields a working-class income rather than a
06:34glamorous rock star lifestyle.
06:36It tolls every muscle, it takes every sound.
06:434. The Verve
06:45The situation here is a little different. The Verve did admittedly see more success at home in their native UK,
06:52aside from their brief flirtation with the North American commercial market.
06:565. The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft actually didn't make a single penny from Bittersweet Symphony
07:07for years, however, due to the legal issue involving the band, a sample from an orchestral
07:12version of the Rolling Stones' The Last Time, and the Stones' infamous former manager, Alan Klein.
07:185. The latter sued the band, with the resulting legal settlement forcing Ashcroft to relinquish 100%
07:32of his songwriting royalties and rights.
07:346. No change, I can't change, I can't change
07:37Jagger and Richards did thankfully agree to hand the rights and future royalties back to Ashcroft,
07:43but the band lost out on decades of prime earnings.
07:477. The Sly & The Family Stone
07:52Number 3. Sly & The Family Stone
07:55Sly & The Family Stone revolutionized American music,
07:59blending rock, funk, and soul into a colorful, chart-topping powerhouse.
08:11Tragically, the group's visionary leader, Sly Stone,
08:14Stone, fell victim to severe substance abuse and catastrophic financial exploitation.
08:20Stone allegedly signed away his lucrative publishing rights in a series of predatory
08:24deals and went decades without receiving his proper royalty checks.
08:30The situation had grown so dire by the late 2000s that the legendary musical pioneer was
08:36reportedly homeless, living out of a camper van in Los Angeles.
08:40Stone, thankfully, won a massive $5 million lawsuit in 2015 for uncollected royalties.
08:47Yet, legal complications and bankruptcy filings meant his actual net worth remained a shadow
08:53of his cultural impact.
09:012.
09:03Grizzly Bear
09:04Grizzly Bear was at the absolute top of the indie rock world back in the late 2000s and
09:112010s.
09:17Their albums cracked the Billboard Top 10, they played massive festivals worldwide, and Jay-Z
09:22and Beyoncé were spotted grooving in the front row of their concerts.
09:26Yet, frontman Ed Droste sent shockwaves through the music world when he pulled back the curtain
09:32on the band's actual finances.
09:38Droste revealed that despite playing to massive, sold-out crowds internationally, the band was
09:43actively losing money on tour due to the crushing overhead costs of live production and travel.
09:49Without physical album sales or massive corporate branding deals, even highly successful, critically
09:55worshipped bands find it nearly impossible to sustain a stable livelihood proving that buzz
10:01doesn't equal bank.
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10:231.
10:25Willie Nelson
10:25Maybe I didn't hold you
10:30Country music legend Willie Nelson was hit with one of history's most famous tax bills
10:36back in 1990, with the Internal Revenue Service claiming he owed $16.7 million in back taxes,
10:43interest, and penalties.
10:45He owed around $32 million.
10:48They negotiated it down to $16.
10:51The financial crisis erupted after his accountants placed his money into tax shelters that the
10:57government later deemed illegal.
10:59The IRS raided Nelson's properties, seizing his Texas ranch, gold records, and personal
11:05assets, though his daughter successfully hit his beloved guitar, Trigger.
11:10To settle the debt, Nelson struck a unique revenue-sharing deal with the IRS.
11:15He released a 1991 acoustic album aptly titled The IRS Tapes.
11:19Pulled by My Memories.
11:21This is the only Willie Nelson album where proceeds go directly to retiring his IRS debt.
11:26Combined with continuous touring, asset auctions, and loyal fans buying his property back for
11:32him, Nelson completely cleared his debt by 1993.
11:36You were always on my mind.
11:41Have you ever played in a band that tried to make it big?
11:45Let us know in the comments.
11:47We'll see you next time.
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