Leonard Cohen says he's broke

[dave-O]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/08/16/Arts/Leonard_Cohen_broke20050816.html

One of Canada's most famous singer-songwriters says he's broke.

Macleans magazine reports that Leonard Cohen discovered his retirement savings have been depleted. Cohen thought the savings were worth more than $5 million US.

The magazine says Cohen is virtually broke, faces a whopping tax bill and has had to take out a mortgage to pay legal costs. A forensic audit of his holdings apparently found massive improprieties.

The 70-year-old poet, with homes in Montreal and Los Angeles, says he's devastated. He says his savings have been reduced to about $150,000.

Cohen has raised questions about how his money was managed by a longtime trusted personal manager, who had signing authority on his accounts, and a financial adviser.

There are reports that Cohen is suing his business manager and tax lawyer.

[Dr. J]

Sad....very sad, but not surprising really. Cohen has always distanced himself from the things of this world, and now it seems some of the folks he trusted to look after things have let him down. A shame really.

Of all the songwriters of my generation, I loved the street poetry of Dylan and the political passion of Phil Ochs, but it was the words of Leonard Cohen that I most wished were my own....and because of that I idolized him.

I used to dream that one day in a dim-lit cafe in old Montreal, Leonard and I would meet, and we would sit for hours sipping our coffee, smoking cigarettes and reflecting on the sadness of life and the beauty of language.....

Now, if we were to meet, i guess we would just sit around and talk about how broke we were.....ah, the passing of time..... :crazy:

[zero]

Read this in the post today, really sounds like he was taken advantage of by his manager and friend. He put all of his copyrights for songs into a trust where he only owned .5% and his manager owned 99.5% for tax reasons then the manager started taking multiple loans of tens of thousands of dollars at a time against the trust. When it came to his attention he sued the manager and a friend who was a financial manager both of whom turned around and sued him back claiming his 'extravagant celebrity lifestyle' (does that sound like Leonard Cohen to you?) was to blame. Now he has mortgaged his house to pay for the court fees and has only $150,000 US of $5,000,000 left for his retirement.

[Kaidy Mae]

Oh man. My poor, poor "hero in the seaweed".

[bONES]

well, he'll just have to go out on tour now to make some coin

how about 6 shows in a row at Convocation Hall!!

that would be too sweet for words

[can-o-phish]

Yes! Convocation Hall is amazing. Saw Bela & the 'Tones there a few years back and both the band and the audience were blown away by the room and how it sounded. Nice venue for Leonard.

[bradm]

Saw Bela & the 'Tones there a few years back and both the band and the audience were blown away by the room and how it sounded.

Was that 2000-11-25? It lists the venue as University of Toronto, which I guess is/was Convocation Hall. I, too, was at that show, and it's an amazing, intimate, room.

Aloha,

Brad

[timouse]

yay tour! maybe he could do a double bill with levon helm, who is also in a world of financial hurt....

[bONES]

[Dr. J]

Sad part, as the writer points out, is that Cohen didn't need to be in this position in the first place.

From the beginning of musical time, artists (in order to secure a recording contract or an infusion of cash etc.) have sold one of the few things they have that holds true value in the marketplace...the publishing rights to the work they create. For years, it's been how record companies controlled their artists. It's why record companies got rich, while artists went broke. It's why Michael Jackson owns the work of The Beatles. It's why Robbie Robertson is on a luxury yacht and Levon Helm is on the road. It's why, early in their career, both Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen refused to record new material for extended periods of time.

Only under desparate circumstances should an artist ever consider selling their publishing rights (copyright/royalties). Cohen wasn't there. He was earning $400,000/year in royalties from his work. More than enough for his spartan lifestyle. His manager was making 20 - 25% of that ($80 - 90,000). There really was no need to do anything. Then his manager suggested he sell his intellectual properties, with the latest sale to Sony Music coming in 2001 for $8 million. From her perspective, I suppose a commission of $1.1 million looked better than a salary of $80,000. Not sure what Leonard was thinking, but he's not the first artist to wake up and find that what, at first, looled like a goldmine had sadly disappeared. Unlike some, Cohen will bounce back.