Bob Marley’s One Love Biopic is a Movie, Music, and Merch Masterclass

This article was the lead in the last SiliconCaribe Insider weekly newsletter that is your guide to who and what’s reshaping the Future of Caribbean Tech and Business. Get it first every Tuesday, Subscribe.

Paramount Pictures Bob Marley: One Love Biopic is a great content marketing play that will boost Merchandise Sales and publishing catalog value for investors and the Marley Estate.  It’s a Masterclass in timing, the business of leveraging your creative work, and the tough choices in balancing legacy and capitalism.  Let me show you the Posthumous Business Side of the Reggae Legend.

About the Movie

Paramount the American movie studio, spent US$ 70 million to make, market, and distribute One Love BioPic, and as of writing this, it’s made just over US$80million since its release on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. It is the number one movie in America this week and the Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed biopic is now out in 47 overseas markets on a like-for-like basis including previews is 14% above Elvis and 12% above Rocketman for the same grouping, making it the second biggest music biopic opening behind only Bohemian Rhapsody.

And while the online armchair critics heap polarised ratings and recommendations on who and what should have been in this movie, we’re here to talk business.

Let’s start with the list.

Making the List

Forbes List: Wikipedia

In its 2023 list of highest-paid dead celebrities, Forbes placed Marley in the ninth slot, right behind former Beatles frontman John Lennon. According to the publication, The Marley Estate earned US$16 million that year. In 2022 Marley didn’t make the Top 13 of the Forbes list and at #13 with US$12 was musician George Harrison. What happened that year? But

In 2018  Marley was #5 earned US$23m

In 2019 Marley was #5 earned US $20m

In 2020  Marley was#8 earned US$14m

In 2021 Marley was #11 earning US$16m

During those 5 years too, it is important to note that the private US-based music publishing company Primary Wave, which is backed by investors such as BlackRock, spent over US$50 million to buy 80% of Marley’s publishing catalog in 2018 owned by Chris Blackwell’s Island Records Founder. It gave them ownership share of two publishing catalogs, Marley’s Songs and Blue Mountain Music.  Blue Mountain Publishing, which was launched by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell in 1962 and is home to the songs by Bob Marley, U2, Toots and the Maytals, Free, John Martyn, and others.

Primary Wave is reported to be “a multifaceted publishing, management, film & TV and marketing company founded by Larry Mestel, whose first job in the music industry was with Blackwell’s Island Records, in 2006.

It is one of the largest independent entertainment companies in the U.S. According to its website, the company holds the copyrights to more than 15,000 songs from the catalogs of artists such as Smokey Robinson, Kurt Cobain, Steven Tyler, John Lennon, Def Leppard, Hall & Oates, Chicago, Maurice White, Graham Parker, Daniel Johnston, Steven Curtis Chapman, Lamont Dozier, Steve Cropper, CeeLo Green, Larry Smith, and many others.” According to Variety.

Let’s go back to the money Marley is earning each year as reported by the Forbes List. In the 2018-2023 year span that I reviewed, the Estate reportedly made over US$90 million. But the music has always been the appetiser that created awareness and affinity – the perfect leverage to do other things.

Resonating Rhythms: Amplifying Music Sales

The resurgence of interest in Marley’s music, catalysed by the One Love Biopic, is poised to give music sales and streams a big bump for sure. His timeless anthems like One Love, Redemption Song, and No Woman, No Cry along with other songs showcased in the movie like War, Exodus Three Little Birds, and Natural Mystic will surely see an uptick, as fresh audiences and long-time fans connect intimately with Marley’s powerful message music. 

Additionally, popular songs on the movie’s soundtrack covered by contemporary Reggae Dancehall Artists like Shenseea will bring renewed appreciation and new fans to the timeless relevance of his message of love, unity, resistance, and social consciousness.

This will add to the gold mine that was already there in the posthumous musical releases, such as the Marley’s Legend compilation album. Released in 1984 and featuring mainstays like Could You Be Loved and Three Little Birds, it’s the most successful reggae album of all time. It has sold over 15 million copies in the US and has spent more than 800 non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200. Collectively, its tracks have accounted for well over 4 billion Spotify streams, and its phenomenal success.

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Yet still, according to many reports, the majority of the money has been in the Merch. That’s the business empire that Marley’s music has built in the decades since he physically left us.

Merchandising Melodies: Capturing Cultural Capital

Without question, Bob Marley’s cultural influence has left an indelible mark on global popular culture. With the release of the One Love Biopic, demand for Marley-themed merchandise—from apparel to accessories—will soar to unprecedented heights. As we all know, in an era where music royalties are often minuscule, a substantial portion of Marley’s earnings stems from merchandising.  The artist’s popular songs and lyrics have also been adopted as marketing tools to sell products.

Now you can buy Bob Marley-themed t-shirts, coffee, ice cream, and body wash. There is also sustainably sourced, Bob Marley-branded audio equipment, in addition to a line of Bob Marley skateboard decks. The cannabis brand Marley Natural also shows how the Marley name has become intertwined with business or with Babylon as Marley may have said it back then.

That said, I love how they have been recently very selective about doing merch collaborations with small, high-end black-owned businesses. And expect to see merch reflective of the songs and albums featured in the One Love Movie. Now that’s strategic.

Still Marley’s business affairs are now controlled by family members—The Marley Estate —who have made deals with various merchandising and marketing partners, with all parties sharing in the profits. The commercial power of Bob Marley’s name generates the royalties earned by the estate, though precise percentages are not publicly available according to a Fast Company article. 

Marley’s fans have been spending big money to express their affinity for the legendary musician and the values he embodied and presents a lucrative opportunity for brands to capitalise on Marley’s enduring legacy while paying homage to Jamaica’s unique culture.

But not everyone is happy about this. 

Critiquing Capitalism: Preserving Marley’s Legacy

We all know though that critiquing any aspect of Bob Marley’s legacy can elicit loud and defensive responses. But while the commercialisation of Bob Marley’s name and image has been declared by his Estate as an important way to sustain and spread the artist’s ideals, some have questioned whether the Estate has been selling out and not ensuring that his artistic and cultural values remain uncompromised.

A fair question.

But the fact is, it takes cash to care and wealth has to be put to work to keep the lights on and the legacy alive. And maybe this unapologetic business side of being a Creative can act as a road map for other Jamaican artists.

Still, it’s not an easy line to skank on and a Fast Company article says this so well.

It said “The accusation of “selling out” could once seriously threaten an artist’s credibility; the insult wields far less power in an era when an artist’s survival often depends on sponsorship and licensing deals. Meanwhile, a deceased artist’s ongoing earnings are left in the hands of others. Nonetheless, when a musician as revered as Marley—and whose songs were suffused with messages of liberation, anti-imperialism, and anti-capitalism—becomes so commercialized, it’s worth wondering how this happened and whether it threatens his artistic legacy.”

That said, the “One Love” biopic, backed by Paramount Pictures and with four Marleys listed as producers, serves as both a cinematic experience and an international marketing vehicle for officially branded merchandise.

On the one hand, the fact that people so eagerly buy products plastered with Marley’s face and words reflects the profound connection he continues to have with his fans. But on the other hand, it’s difficult at times to accept Marley—a symbol of post-colonialism and anti-capitalism—now being aligned with branding collaborations and private equity firms.

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Regardless, the final decision on what the future of Marley’s Legacy will look like lies at the feet of his family as it should be.

But on a personal note, as warmongers threaten basic human rights around the world, Marley’s messages of peace, anti-imperialism, and social justice are more relevant than ever. And while I know that the commercialisation of Bob Marley’s legacy will continue to spark debate, I somehow believe that his music will continue to transcend the negatives and serve as a beacon of hope and resistance in an ever-changing world.

His music means so much to us all.

One Love.

PS: For the record, my favourite Bob Marley song is actually “War”

This article was the lead in the last SiliconCaribe Insider weekly newsletter that is your guide to who and what’s reshaping the Future of Caribbean Tech and Business. Get it first every Tuesday, Subscribe.