Company Auctioning Rights to Songs By Aerosmith, Underwood, Starr

SongVest, a Wisconsin-based company, has figured out a new way to make money off old songs: Auctioning a portion of the rights of tracks by Aerosmith, Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne, Carrie Underwood and others to fans of the music. In addition to claiming ownership, the winner will also collect royalties from the track, which SongVest will handle for you. The fall '08 auction features former hit songs like All-4-One's "I Swear" and the Monkees' theme song, as well as Aerosmith's "Gotta Love It" and Carrie Underwood's "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore." SongVest's first auction went down last year, with buyers spending $25,000 for a 25% interest in two songs by Christian metalheads Stryper. "No one is buying records. This to me is just another angle," says songwriter Mark Hudson, whose songs for Ozzy Osbourne ("Denial") and Ringo Starr ("Never Without You") will also feature in the upcoming auction.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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