Led Zeppelin: A ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Lawsuit Revealed the Band Earns Millions of Dollars Each Year
Led Zeppelin made a fortune when they were an active band. How much did they earn? Enough for drummer John Bonham to pay $85,000 cash for a car just to spite the salesperson. The money didn’t stop flowing when the band broke up. A 2016 lawsuit highlighted how much Led Zeppelin earns from their music each year.
How much money does Led Zeppelin earn each year? Nearly $12 million per year over a 5-year stretch
Several bands credibly accused Led Zeppelin ripping off songs during their career. They had to give songwriting credits to blues musicians they copied a few times. It wasn’t surprising they got pinched. Led Zeppelin got so big they earned six figures at some concerts and toured in a private airplane. Other musicians wanted a piece of the pie if they could get it.
One of the bands that wanted a cut was Spirit. Their eerie instrumental “Taurus” included a passage that sounded very close to the “Stairway to Heaven” intro. Spirit’s song came first, and they said Led Zeppelin plagiarized them for “Stairway.” Hence the lawsuit.
A lawsuit that saw the band defending itself from Spirit’s copyright claims revealed how much money Led Zeppelin earns from its catalog in a year. An economist testified during a 2016 hearing that the band earned $58.5 million over the previous five years, per Billboard. That’s an average of $11.7 million each year.
Earning eight figures each year for decades-old songs doesn’t sound like such a bad gig. Of course, the band didn’t magically make money appear. Led Zeppelin had to put in the hard work to earn that much money, and they did. Zep’s work ethic impressed bassist John Paul Jones, even more so because they never had record label reps looking over their shoulder to keep them on task.
Zep makes a fortune from ‘Stairway to Heaven’
Not all that passive income came from “Stairway to Heaven.” Still, the song probably contributed more than others to the yearly earnings. It’s Led Zeppelin’s most recognizable tune and their most-streamed Spotify song.
The pittance the band earned from each stream added up to a princely sum. Led Zeppelin made $3.4 million from “Stairway to Heaven” over five years, per the BBC, or approximately $700,000 a year.
The band’s catalog of songs extends beyond “Stairway,” and they’ve smartly monetized their music over the years.
Led Zeppelin made $2 million from 1 use of ‘Immigrant Song’
If we’re defining “Stairway to Heaven” as Led Zeppelin’s most recognizable tune, then “Immigrant Song” has to be No. 2. Just like the rest of their music, the band has continued to make money by carefully allowing it to be used in other media.
Jack Black successfully petitioned the band to let him use it in the movie School of Rock. The band earned a $2 million paycheck when director Taika Waititi used it in Thor: Ragnarok. An “Immigrant Song” snippet appeared in Shrek the Third.
Led Zeppelin surely earned a lucrative payday when Jimmy Page let P. Diddy use “Kashmir” in their 1990s collaboration for the Godzilla soundtrack.
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones have sizable net worths
Led Zeppelin’s massive earnings during their heyday and smart money moves since their breakup has ensured they remain wealthy. Page and singer Robert Plant never fully walked away from their music careers. Still, Zep’s two primary songwriters earned a fortune from the band’s career.
His songwriting credits, soundtrack compositions, and production work helped Page’s net worth soar to roughly $170 million. Led Zeppelin’s record sales and his extensive solo career (he returned to music roughly two years after Bonham’s 1980 death) helped Plant’s net worth climb to the same figure as his bandmate — $170 million. Jones didn’t earn as many Led Zeppelin songwriting credits as his bandmates. Still, his long career as a musician, producer, and arranger (plus his Zep earnings) helped him build a $120 million net worth, per Celebrity Net Worth.
They wrote some of the most enduringly popular songs in classic rock history. It’s little wonder Led Zeppelin earns millions of dollars each year for music that continues winning over fans around the world.
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