The Bob Marley Economy

Perhaps no artist left behind a richer musical legacy than the legendary Bob Marley. Reggae music’s greatest ambassador exhorted his listeners to “emancipate [themselves] from mental slavery.” And if recent activity in Marley’s camp is any indication, that emancipation can be found in salad dressing.

It’s part of the branding world’s obsession with dead rock stars - which started in earnest in 2006, when the estate of the late Kurt Cobain sold 25% of his song catalog for $50 million.
Of course, Marley’s image has been generating revenue since his death in 1981: his music has sold steadily, the 1984 compilation Legend sold more than 20 million records, and his image has been used in countless merchandising efforts - including posters, jewelry, and infant clothing. There are also untold amounts of bootleg merchandise.

But while much of the revenue generated from late musicians like Cobain and Elvis Presley comes from music sales and licensing, the Marley estate has taken a unique approach to branding: His not-inconsiderable brood sold half of the rights to the Marley name to Hilco Consumer Capital, a Canadian private-equity firm whose portfolio includes the Sharper Image, Caribbean Joe, and Linens ‘N Things.

“We have been diligent about protecting our father’s legacy over the years,” said Marley’s eldest child, Cedella Marley, in a statement announcing the foundation of House of Marley, LLC. “There is enormous demand for products that allow his legend to live on. This partnership will allow us to grow his legacy, while maintaining his integrity and artistic DNA in a quality manner.”

The partnership’s first initiative: Marley Lager, a beer sure to incite peaceful revolution, along with headphones, snowboards and posters. But Hilco is preparing a veritable brand juggernaut for 2010 - the year that would have marked Marley's sixty-fifth birthday. We can look forward to Marley footwear, salad dressing, luggage, stationary, musical instruments, video games, computer products, restaurants and spas.

Marijuana -- a large part of the Marley iconography and portrayed in much of his bootleg merchandise -- will not be featured in any of the products, though the official Marley website will continue to sell officially licensed “cigarette papers.”

Expressing themselves primarily online, music purists have mostly been appalled at the crass commercialism suddenly surrounding the Marley name. But they'd better get used to it: Last year, Nike’s (NKE) Converse brand unveiled a Kurt Cobain sneaker, along with shoes emblazoned with the images of Grateful Dead and the Doors. All 3 legendary bands have charismatic -- and very dead -- frontmen in common.

In 2007, a year that saw the celebrity and estate licensing industry generate $3.5 billion in sales, a New Zealand company launched Liquid Experience, an energy drink built around the image of late rock legend Jimi Hendrix (who tended to partake of far more effective stimulants).

And what of the detractors who complain that nostalgia ain’t what it used to be? They can get their Bob Marley Get Up Bib for $9.99 at the Marley online store.