# How rich is Neil Young? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141 "2018-03-06T19:47:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/41 "2018-03-09T17:57:08Z")
Hmmm. Interesting, regarding Broken arrow. I knew he no longer owned it, but I didn’t know why. I hike in El Corte Madera Creek OSP sometimes, which very close to it. If I was with people and we were over at that end of the preserve, I had to quit joking “Hey, let’s go over that way and visit Neil”. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/42 "2018-03-09T18:26:15Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > The melody and lyrics are the song. The singer and the instrument are the color. How often does a “song” get covered vs how often does a “voice or instrument” get covered? That may be the technical definition… but. There are some songs where we don’t care about who is singing or playing. But for many songs, the original hit as recorded in the studio is how the song is fixed in our minds. For singers with very distinctive voices (like Neil whasisname comes to mind) that is as much part of the song to me as the melody or lyrics. Note that in covers, there are two types - the singer tries to sound exactly like the original, or they change things drastically to put their own spin on it. Sometimes this works - the version of “Bang Bang” by Nancy Sinatra from Kill Bill comes to mind. More often, it does not work well. IMHO. Of course, there are those old standards that everyone covered and we don’t have a specific singer fixed in our mind. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/43 "2018-03-09T20:14:52Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > This is heartbreaking to read. I thought he and his wife were still quite tight. Very sad - and with his three high-needs kids, that much more complex. > > Damn. In the early 1970’s, he would speak about this new farm he’d bought from a coupla lawyers. That was the Ranch. He left her for Daryl Hannah. That also led to the final breakup of CSN with David Crosby tearing into Neal Young in public about it. No one is tight any more. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/44 "2018-03-09T20:31:19Z")
15 or so yrs old by now, but as I recall, the LOONG bio “Shakey” went into a lot of detail about NY’s finances, investments, etc. I remember them talking of his special needs kids, the Lionel investment, real estate, and financial aspects of various tours/reuniting. As I recall, he went from periods of pretty stupefying wealth, to periods where he had to sell stuff off - but was still not missing any meals. I suspect his royalties should be enough to keep him - and some ex-wives and special needs kids - relatively comfortable. Long book, but I found it quite interesting, especially about his early days in Canada, and moving to LA and the years w/ CSNY. Did you know Rick James was the singer in one of his first bands? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/45 "2018-03-16T12:53:25Z")
Interesting. I didn’t read Shakey, but I sure did read “Waging Heavy Peace”, by Neil Young. A rather non-linear effort and detailing his life and work and loves and interests. By the end, Neil makes it pretty clear that he believes himself to be suffering from a slow-onset neurological problem. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc. He wants to get his story out in his own words before the more blurry periods increase. It’s not a dominant theme but it’s there and a thin but bright thread throughout. It was a decent read, immensely rambling and self-indulgent. Clearly a book in need of an editor- but then again, it’s Neil Young. Let the guy ramble. ---
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/46 "2019-06-11T17:26:34Z")
Unrelated question: How is Neil Young perceived among the intelligentsia these days? Can still play, or his time has passed? At his peak, what was his evaluation? A better singer/songwriter or a better guitarist, or performer? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/47 "2019-06-11T17:40:31Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > There was a programme on TV here a while ago that looked at who made the money out of popular music. The outstanding winners were the writers, especially if they did it on their own. This is because they not only get paid for the original song, but also they get a percentage every time someone covers it. If you can write a Christmas special, you may have an income for life (and beyond). Irving Berlin made a lot more out of White Christmas than Bing Crosby. > [@jaycat](#): > > From my (very limited) knowledge of How To Make A Living As A Songwriter\*, my understanding is that the best one can do is to get a tune played on a TV show or in a movie. That’s how someone like Mark E. Smith was able to scrape along. I also understand that Neil Young has declined such usage for his tunes, so there’s that. > > \*“You’re better off playing the lottery.” Musical theatre has “grand rights.” Any musical has to pay the lyricist and composer every time they use their song. At 8 times a week, it adds up. There is no escaping this rule. If you do not pay the grand rights to the right people, your show will be closed down. Someone needs to do a jukebox musical based on Neil’s songs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/48 "2019-06-11T18:14:07Z")
> [@SayTwo](#): > > At his peak, what was his evaluation? A better singer/songwriter or a better guitarist, or performer? Great songwriter, good performer, competent( at best )guitarist. The last will get the most challenge I imagine - I’m not sure anyone is going to claim that he is a particularly _skilled_ or _versatile_ guitarist. His old Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y band mate Stephen Stills is rather less famous as a player, but considerably more talented in that area. But Young does have a distinct style/tone, which absolutely counts for something. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/49 "2019-06-11T18:30:02Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Great songwriter, good performer, competent( at best )guitarist. The last will get the most challenge I imagine - **I’m not sure anyone is going to claim that he is a particularly _skilled_ or _versatile_ guitarist**. If they do, remind them that Neil Young doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/50 "2019-06-11T19:51:23Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > But what about Krist Noveselic? Nirvana wasn’t around long enough as an arena band for him to have made a ton from touring, so it must have been mostly from album sales. I’m pretty sure he’s not working day jobs these days. If we take the “Hole” example and he got $50k per million records sold, and Nirvana sold 20 million, that’s only $1 million. So at SOME point, the percentage of album sales for the band members must start going up. Granted, the odds of finding yourself in a band that successful is probably about the odds of becoming the next Tom Brady. [Net worth around 50 million so he doin’ aight.](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rock-stars/krist-novoselic-net-worth/) ---
**Author:** ![SayTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@SayTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SayTwo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/51 "2019-06-11T19:58:08Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Great songwriter, good performer, competent( at best )guitarist. The last will get the most challenge I imagine - I’m not sure anyone is going to claim that he is a particularly _skilled_ or _versatile_ guitarist. His old Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y band mate Stephen Stills is rather less famous as a player, but considerably more talented in that area. But Young does have a distinct style/tone, which absolutely counts for something. I’m wondering, then, what it boils down to, his fame. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/52 "2019-06-11T20:13:20Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Great songwriter, good performer, competent( at best )guitarist. The last will get the most challenge I imagine - I’m not sure anyone is going to claim that he is a particularly _skilled_ or _versatile_ guitarist. His old Buffalo Springfield and CSN&Y band mate Stephen Stills is rather less famous as a player, but considerably more talented in that area. But Young does have a distinct style/tone, which absolutely counts for something. Agreed. Neil does have a unique guitar sound, especially when playing accoustic guitar. He has a \*very \*heavy right hand. But his guitar playing isn’t what he’s known for. He’s an OK player. Stills, on the other hand, is (at least in my opinion) a brilliant player, especially on accoustic guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2019, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/53 "2019-06-11T20:22:53Z")
> [@SayTwo](#): > > I’m wondering, then, what it boils down to, his fame. Great songwriting, good performances and a distinctive sound? Y’know, at a guess ;). I’m not sure what seems inexplicable about it. There is no magic formula as to one why person succeeds massively and another doesn’t. I think **Robyn Hitchcock** is tremendously talented, but he is to the best of my knowledge not a staggeringly wealthy individual, despite decades of critically acclaimed output and one( quirky )concert film by a major director( Demme ). Or for another example **Big Star** ’s brilliant _#1 Record_ sold ~10,000 copies despite being massively lauded. Wealth in the entertainment field rides on a number of shifting factors. Luck is a big part of it, not just of shifting tastes and the vagaries of airplay, but even the era you perform in. The **REM** s and **Blondie** s that burst out of a scene to make major bank are almost always the exceptions, not the rule and it is probably relatively harder to accomplish these days. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/54 "2019-06-12T15:45:50Z")
Neil was IIRC one of those guys (plenty of them in the history of popular music) who was told “stick to playing, your voice sounds too weird” but his distinctive voice is what makes his past catalog stand out. His past catalog is especially popular here in Canada, so I don’t think he’s fading away any time soon. As a Canadian, he’s regarded as one of our musical greats, right up there with Joni Mitchell, Burton Cummings and the Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/55 "2019-06-12T18:46:44Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Neil was IIRC one of those guys (plenty of them in the history of popular music) who was told “stick to playing, your voice sounds too weird” but his distinctive voice is what makes his past catalog stand out. His past catalog is especially popular here in Canada, so I don’t think he’s fading away any time soon. As a Canadian, he’s regarded as one of our musical greats, right up there with Joni Mitchell, Burton Cummings and the Guess Who, Gordon Lightfoot, etc. Nothing against any of the folks you mentioned, but I think most would agree that Neil is generally regarded as being at a level or two \*above _each of those_. mmm \*(although I would not immediately dismiss an argument about Joni being at his level) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/56 "2019-06-13T01:32:41Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Nothing against any of the folks you mentioned, but I think most would agree that Neil is generally regarded as being at a level or two \*above _each of those_. > mmm > \*(although I would not immediately dismiss an argument about Joni being at his level) For a period of time, she was either just above him or just beneath him. Topanga Canyon days… ---
**Author:** ![Royal\_Nonesutch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecb155/32.png) [@Royal\_Nonesutch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Royal_Nonesutch)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/57 "2019-06-13T10:11:50Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Nothing against any of the folks you mentioned, but I think most would agree that Neil is generally regarded as being at a level or two \*above _each of those_ I might be biased, as I have had the privilege of seeing Neil Young play live some 20 or so times over the years, in several different pairings, solo, with Crazy Horse, with Crosby Stills and Nash (for free, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park then he sat in with the Grateful Dead later that same afternoon) with Bob Dylan & Bruce Springsteen in New York City’s iconic Roseland Ballroom, at Denver’s magnificent Red Rocks Ampitheater, at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in a relentless deluge of truly Biblical proportions, etc., etc., etc., and I don’t think that there is any question that Neil Young is the most well-known Canadian musician on Earth, unless you perhaps count Justin Bieber, who I suppose might be more FAMOUS internationally, although I would argue that he is certainly not respected by people who are serious about music. (In a couple of weeks I am flying to Munich to see Neil Young with Promise of the Real, something that should be worth hoisting a stein or two to) ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/58 "2019-06-13T13:18:45Z")
As far as fame goes, Celine Dion is probably up there. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/59 "2019-06-13T13:54:16Z")
Before this evolves into a thread about where Neil Young fits in the Canadian musical pantheon, we recently had [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=873989) over in CS. Neil Young certainly was a popular choice, but I was surprised how well Rush did. **Typo Negative** supplied some pretty objective evidence supporting them in Post 84. (Apologies, I never figured out how to do a link directly to a specific post.) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141/60 "2019-06-13T13:59:58Z")
I thought of Celine Dion, but the ones I mentioned are songwriters as well as singers. Plus - the point I was making is that with studio recording, the singular sound of a song has been fixed in time and tends to be the one version we hear over and over; and a very distinctive very recognizable voice is a characteristic of a lot of those songs, as much as the melody and lyrics. (No doubt Neil’s singing voice is distinctive) Indeed, the instrumentation and arrangement are also distinctive, to the point where we can instantly recognize a song from the opening bars… And copyright covers those - even the two-note “ta-TUM” arrangement from Law and Order is apparently copyright. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-rich-is-neil-young/810141.md?page=4)