This is starting to get ridiculous. After we reported yesterday that Beyonce’s low beat variance is cited as spelling disaster for the economy, one economist alleges that David Bowie is responsible for the downturn in the markets.
In the 1990s, Bowie offered Bowie Bonds, similar to regular bonds, but the purchaser received a share of Bowie’s royalties in exchange for the purchase. This meant that while he collected less in royalties over time, Bowie pocketed plenty of money up front and the purchaser garnered royalty profits as they came in.
As usual, Bowie was ahead of his time; the practice caught on with banks, who began selling those now-infamous mortgage-backed securities and we all know what happened next.
It’s pretty funny that economists keep blaming all their problems on musicians.