by John Lohr (with Ian lohr)
When one speaks of investors—individuals, not banks or institutions—there is usually a distinction made between the so-called “Mom and Pop” investor (typically best served by choosing relatively low-risk investments), and the so-called “High Net Worth” investor (who may be more open to risk). Most people think of high-net worth investors as bankers or brokers—the Warren Buffet type of investor. But there is also the Jimmy Buffet type of investor: popular musicians often have substantial levels of wealth to invest, and thus are often considered high-Net-Worth investors.
High net worth investors are expected to take a greater interest in their investments, and to be better informed about them, than the average investor. So what kind of advice in money management are the great musicians of rock and pop able to give us? Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not, much of the advice is fairly bad—if the songs alone are taken at face value.
Pink Floyd is one of the biggest names of seventies rock—their 1972 album “Dark Side Of The Moon” remains a best-seller after more than four decades. In their famous song “Money”, singer David Gilmour suggests squandering one’s wealth in heedless spending. He sings of a “new car, caviar, four-star daydream, think I’ll buy me a football team.” No word about thinking of the future. Just instant gratification. In their everyday lives, however, the members of Pink Floyd have been very successful in managing their money. Rather than buying that football team, they invested in real estate, antiques, and film projects. They also reinvested in their stage show, adding spectacular elements including laser beams, giant disco balls, and a huge inflatable flying pig.
Among the other giants of classic British rock and roll is the group Queen. In their penultimate album, 1989’s “the Miracle”, Freddie Mercury sings “I Want it all and I want it now”. Mercury and his bandmates parlayed their success—tempered by Mercury’s 1992 death from long-term illness—into a multibillion dollar media empire, including feature concert films, elaborate high-energy international tours, and even a recent Broadway musical.
Fans of eighties rock will no doubt remember Dire Straits, headed by noted guitarist and songwriter Mark Knopfler. Their song “Money For Nothing” spawned one of the most influential music videos of that decade, featuring early computer animation. In this song, Knopfler sings of the ideal financial situation: “That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it, get your money for nothing and your checks for free”. Knopfler has made it abundantly clear that the song is intended as satirical criticism on the public idea of the Rock Musician. Rather than getting “Money For Nothing”, professional musicians work as hard or harder than the average white-collar office worker. The same could be said of investors.
The marriage of Rock and Roll and Rolls of dollar bills is not a new one. Almost five decades ago, a rather obscure soul singer, Barrett Strong, first sang of his opinion that “The best things in life are free, but you can save them for the birds and bees, give me money…that’s what I want…all I need is money.” The song became the first hit single on Motown records, and Strong found a career as a hit songwriter. His original version is perhaps not as notable in itself as are the other singers and groups who have performed or recorded it, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Ike and Tina Turner, the Supremes, and many more.
As for the eponymous fab four themselves, perhaps their most concise comment on money is a negative—“all you need is love.” Compatriots on the British music scene of the time, The Rolling Stones would have been well served to have listened to their own advice: “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.” Rather than concentrating on what they needed, the wasted their money in a series of well-publicized encounters with massive amounts of alcohol and dangerous illegal substances.
Speaking of booze and drugs, psychedelic songstress Janis Joplin has never been known for her fiscal responsibility. Her investing strategy appears to be related to prayer (“Oh lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz”) and game shows (“dialing for dollars is trying to find me”). This blind hope for divine guidance and exceptional luck is unfortunately emblematic of the mindset of many a modern investor. While Joplin did not survive to collect one, this is hardly the attitude to take with one’s 401(k), and certainly serves as a cautionary example.
Musical, songwriter, playwright and social humanitarian, Cindy Lauper sang “Money Changes Everything” in the eighties. Today that theme is echoed every time someone buys a lottery ticket.
And of course, there are a few other rock epigrams about money, specially appropriate for this hasty investors, that one would like to avoid. One might be “na-na-na-na na-na-nana, hey hey hey, goodbye”. These days perhaps the best rock song to express how Wall Street works is by Judas Priest, “breaking the law, breaking the law”.