- David Paton’s 1974 song “Magic” was reused as the theme for Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic campaign.
- Paton, his late bandmate’s estate, and Sony Publishing all profited, with Paton likely earning seven figures.
- This illustrates the continued high investment in artists’ catalogs, fueled by the growth of streaming and commercial usage.
Ozempic appears to be a miracle drug that changes people’s lives and could have profound effects on the entire economy.
It also appears to have generated at least a million dollars for David Paton.
It turns out that Paton is one of two men who wrote “Magic” for his band Pilot in 1974, when it became a Top 10 hit. And now, a new version of “Magic” has become the theme song for Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic rollout in the US, which covers TV and the internet with this earworm:
Novo Nordisk initially released a version of Paton’s song recorded by someone else, but has since leaned into the idea that the 70-year-old Paton is the happy face behind his cheery jingle.
Here’s a video of Paton wandering into Abbey Road studios in London to record his own version of the commercial:
Paton was paid both for the cover of his song that someone else recorded and for the one he did. And Paton isn’t the only winner from Ozempic’s boom: Novo Nordisk also paid out the estate of its former bandmate who co-wrote the song, and Sony Publishing, which manages Paton’s songwriting catalog .
None of them say how much money is involved, but The New York Times interviewed music publishing executives who estimated that the campaign was “most likely worth seven figures to Paton.”
All of this illustrates why investors and music companies continue to bid large sums on the back catalogs of artists who haven’t released hit music in a long time. That includes deals for superstars you’ve heard of, like Bruce Springsteen ($500 million), and bags of rights to songs like John Lee Hooker, Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson ($470 million).
These products became especially expensive during the pandemic boom, where all sorts of assets saw their values inflated — at least $5 billion worth of songs traded in 2021 alone. But that continued after the pandemic.
This is largely due to the overall growth of streaming, which has created a new revenue stream for the music industry. If you think streaming volume will increase, it stands to reason that the songs you buy today will be worth more in the future. , as more and more people access it.
But Paton’s story illustrates another reason: Song owners can find ways to monetize their work in films, TV shows and commercials. The chances of someone having their song ripped off to sell a Big Pharma Wonder Drug aren’t very high – because there aren’t many Big Pharma Wonder Drugs, by definition – but if it happens, it’s a very big reward.
businessinsider
