David Crosby has been forced to sell some of his song publishing to keep afloat during the pandemic. Although no dollar amount was given, during a new interview with American Songwriter, “Croz” revealed the heartbreaking decision to part with his songs, explaining the sale was was due to music streaming and his road work drying up: “I usually have two ways that I work. I can either make records or do concerts, those are the two ways I make money. Then, streaming came along and I don’t make money from records anymore. That’s done. Nowadays, you go in, you record, you do your job for a month and they give you a nickel. You’d be pissed. . . I’m pissed. Streaming doesn’t pay us squat, you couldn’t feed a squirrel on what they pay us. So, with that I lost half my income.”
Crosby went on to say, “I wanted to be grateful that I could still play live shows and take care of my family, pay my rent, do my thing. Then comes along Covid and now I can’t work anymore. That put me out of business. So, I’m not doing all that great — I sold some of my publishing. I had to do that so I could have money to live on, so I could take care of my family.”
He spoke frankly about how difficult it was selling the ownership of his songs: “It was hard. I saved my publishing all this time. I didn’t even sell my publishing when I was a goddamn junkie and a junkie would sell their mother! So, it was really hard to do, but I’m grateful that it was an option I had. That’s the only way that I can continue to take care of my family and live in my home.”
