My wife asked me if I’d trade having written a New York Times No 1 bestseller for having written the Tommy Tutone song 867-5309/Jenny. This was not something I had to ponder.
Yes. In a minute.
It doesn’t look like I’m ever going to write, produce or perform on a hit single. But I have spent the last year investing in songs and royalties via several different avenues — mostly buying shares from great producers like Domingo (KRS-One, Masta Ace, et al) via a company called Royalty Exchange.
There’s a New Jersey producer called Kyle “Small” Smith who has made records for Aly-Us, including the hit “Follow Me,” plus tracks by Ametria, Kim English and Viola Sykes. It felt great to buy his production shares from some guy in Dalkeith, Western Australia and return them to New Jersey. Maybe I’ll even meet Small someday!
I value songs so much and I’m happy to put my money where my mouth is. Here’s my story about how it works.