Britney as an economic engine?
Ever get the feeling somebody is making a whole lot of money off Britney Spears besides Britney Spears?
Portfolio magazine estimates the annual value of Britney Spears to the U.S. economy is $110 million to $120 million -- and that's when she isn't even touring.
Portfolio estimates record companies, promoters and licensers make $30 million to $40 million because of endorsements, record sales and other business.
It estimates the paparazzi make $4 millions from selling photos of the Kentwood native. Celebrity tabloids, web traffic and other media make an estimated $75 million off her in a year. A celebrity tabloid can sell as many as 33 percent more copies if Spears is on the cover.
Her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, pulls in $1 million a year because of her, and not just the $35,000-a-month from spousal and child-support payments. K-Fed reportedly gets $30,000 from nightclubs just to show up.
Foremost, there's the direct Spears-related music and business ventures:
• Since releasing her debut album in 1999, Spears has gone on to sell a staggering 83 million records, raking in more than $400 million for her label, Jive Records.
• Her tours, too, are hot sellers, grossing close to $150 million to date. And Elizabeth Arden has sold close to $100 million of the Britney-based fragrances Curious, Believe and Fantasy.
In all, the Spears brand is bringing in an average annual take of $30 million to $40 million for her record label, promoters, licensers and others.
There's a reason the paparazzi are constantly on her tail.
• Money shots can generate anywhere from $250 for the average shot of a gas station run to $500,000 for, say, X17's exclusive shaved-head photos.
• X17, which sold $2.5 million worth of Spears photos in 2007, estimated that shots of the singer represent 30 percent of its revenue, while rival agency Splash News pegged Spears' value at closer to 10 percent or 15 percent of its business.
In all, photo agencies score an annual take of around $4 million by keeping their cameras trained on Spears.
All of those photos are getting published somewhere--namely, celebrity tabloids.
• From January 2006 to July 2007, Spears was featured on the covers of People, Us Weekly, In Touch, Life & Style, OK!andStar175 times.
• While that may seem like oversaturation, there's a good reason for it: A magazine with Spears' mug on the front sells about 33 percent more copies on the newsstand. Within the 78-week time period referenced above, newsstand sales of issues with her on the cover amounted to $360 million.
In all, Spears fodder amounts to an estimated $75 million in annual media revenue.