Did MSNBC buy the Bowie catalog?

[MonkeyFunk]

They just did a little fashion segment over "Young Americans" and during Morning Joe, they used another Bowie song for their bumpers (I forget which one).

Weird.

[onehandle]

1. Media conglomerates pay a fee to use just about anything for bumpers.

Good taste for once. At least it wasn't Britney or Jessica Simpson.

[MonkeyFunk]

2. true

but it just struck me as odd to hear Bowie used so frequently today. I was wondering if they'd made some deal. Bowie is quite the businessman.

[Atman]

4. Actually, Joe uses very short clips, under five seconds.

I may be mistaken, but I think they skirt royalties by using such short snippets. I've often wondered about this, as Morning Joe seems to have one hell of a budget for music royalties. Unless all the stuff is already owned by some part of GE already and they just get to shuffle expenses and tax write-offs from division to division.

.

[rocktivity]

3. Didn't Bowie do some kind of investment thing with his catalog?

(Gets off shiftless lazy ass and does her own research) Yes, he was "the first singer to issue bonds using future royalties as security" back in '97.

:headbang:
rocknation

[MonkeyFunk]

5. oh

he's done all sorts of things. Yes, he issued Bowie Bonds against his future income, he has his own label credit card, and has been a master at rereleasing his existing catalog in various formats. He's got more greatest hit sets than any artist I've ever seen. And he just reissued his last 5 albums in a box set.

[LeftHander]

6. I thought Paul McCartny bought Bowie's catalog......?? nt

[MonkeyFunk]

7. nah!

Bowie owns it all. But I was wondering if he'd made some deal to license it to MSNBC.