What is the market value of a song?

Today I interrupt the serious economic news with a story from the music industry. In 2021, investors spent $5 billion to buy the rights to old songs. A catalogue of songs generates revenue as they are used in advertising and royalties when played on the radio and listened to on streaming services. Now, however, it seems that the investors paid too much and the old rock stars are laughing all the way to the bank. This episode is supported by the NWU Business School. Errors and omissions are my own.