Bowie Bonds and a Novel

Bowie Bonds are bonds that are secured by future royalties from copyrighted songs of musicians. They are called Bowie Bonds because David Bowie was the first entertainer to have such bonds issued. In 1997, investment bankers raised $55 million in ten year bonds backed by the future royalties of his copyrighted songs. Unfortunately, the public couldn't buy any of these bonds as they were all sold to Prudential Insurance. Bowie used the proceeds to make other investments such as a record label and a web based radio station.

Other musicians who have taken advantage of Bowie Bonds include:
Rod Stewart 1998 $15.4 million (royalty loan)
Dusty Springfield 1998 $10 million
Ashford & Simpson 1999 $25 million
James Brown 1999 $30 million
Isley Brothers 1999
Iron Maiden 1999 $30 million
Marvin Gaye 2000

A couple years ago, there was a book written which used Bowie Bonds as its major theme. It is written by Linda Davies, an outstanding financial mystery writer, and her book is called Something Wild. It is about a young, extremely intelligent, beautiful female semi-retired investment banker from London who meets a rock star in Wyoming interested in raising money. Beyond that, I don't want to give away any of the plot. However, the book has mystery, suspense, drama, romance and action. It doesn't have as much action as her previous books, Nest of Vipers and Wilderness of Mirrors , both excellent books, but I consider Something Wild an even better book.

One of the bizarre things about the Something Wild book is that you can't buy it in the United States. If you go to the sites of Amazon or Barnes and Noble and type in Linda Davies, it will show her other books but not Something Wild. Apparently, it can only be bought in Canada and Great Britain. I had to go to Amazon Canada (amazon.ca) in order to order it. I highly recommend this book, even if you have to pay the high shipping to order from Canada.