A licensing story that packs a punch Iron Mike would be proud of! In 1986, Nintendo was about to launch a new boxing game for the NES. But Nintendo of America's president had a crazy idea after watching a 20-year-old Mike Tyson demolish his opponents... "What if we put the scariest man on the planet in our game?" Nintendo offered young Mike a licensing deal that would make most licensing agents cry: Just $50,000 for a 3-year license to use his name and likeness. (I hear he wasn’t mad though. Just happy to be part of gaming history for his first deal) But here's the licensing magic: • Perfect timing - Nintendo saw Tyson's star rising BEFORE he hit peak value • Fixed term - They built in a 3-year limit (smart!) • Clear exit strategy - When the term ended, Nintendo chose not to renew the deal - (due to Mike’s increased controversial image from personal and legal troubles. They simply replaced him with "Mr. Dream" and re-released the game as “Punch-Out!!”) • Win-win structure - Tyson got cash + exposure, Nintendo got star power The result? Over 2 MILLION copies sold! But here's where the story gets even better... That first Nintendo deal? It was just the beginning. Since then, Tyson has: - Licensed his name to bestselling books - Created a hit animated series ("Mike Tyson Mysteries") - Launched successful cannabis products ("Tyson 2.0") - Even licensed his personal brand for the hit Hulu series "Mike" Today, Mike's licensing deals bring in an estimated $30+ MILLION a year! Daaaa-yuumn. From a $50k video game deal to a multi-million dollar licensing empire... That first "small" Nintendo deal helped build the foundation for everything that came after. I don't know about you? But this fires me up to go stack dem royalties, knowing what we Rockstars know in here. To rockin’ (and stackin') those royalties, Adam PS: Fun fact - Tyson's cannabis company did $150 million in sales in 2022 alone! Now THAT'S what I call a high-value licensing deal! 😉🌿

I remember my first LEGO set as a kid. It was a full medieval castle complete with dungeon, little knights, and working drawbridge. It was so cool. I had a blast putting it together and played with that thing for hours and hours. So I’m excited to share this little licensing history tidbit with y’all about one of my most favorite toys as a kid. In 1932 there’s a Danish carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen. Times were tough, and nobody was buying furniture. So Ole started making wooden toys instead. He named his company "LEGO," which means "play well" in Danish. In 1949, LEGO started making plastic bricks. They could snap together to build almost anything. Kids loved them, and LEGO grew and grew. But then, in the 1990s and early 2000s, something not-so-awesome happened. Kids were getting bored with just bricks. They wanted video games and cool tech toys. LEGO tried making all sorts of new stuff - clothes, theme parks, and even weird bricks that didn't fit with the old ones. By 2004, LEGO was in big trouble. They were losing a TON of money - like, hundreds of millions of dollars. Enter our hero: Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. At 35 years young and the first non-family member to lead LEGO, Jørgen had a big job ahead of him - save LEGO! One day, while walking around the office, Jørgen had an epiphany (I like to imagine it was triggered by him stepping on a LEGO piece). “Wait a minute," he thought, "LEGO isn't just a toy. It's a way to tell stories!" Jørgen called a big meeting. "Listen up, team," holding a little LEGO minifigure. "This little guy could be in movies, video games, and theme parks. We just need to team up with the right people!" Some of the more unsure types were all like, “But we make toys!” Jørgen smiled and said, "We won't make movies or games. We'll let other companies use our brand to make cool stuff. It's called licensing!" So, LEGO started making deals. Their first big win? LEGO Star Wars! Kids could now build the Millennium Falcon brick by brick.

“I own Hulk Hogan, Hulkamania, Hulkster. I’m one of the few guys who own the name, rights, trademarks, and licenses. Vince (McMahon Sr) goes, ‘I want you to be Hulk Hogan.’ ‘What does Hulk Hogan mean?’ ‘Ivan Putski for the Polish Americans, Bruno Sammartino for the Italian Americans, Chief Jay Strongbow for the Native Americans, and Hulk Hogan for the Irish Americans.’ Vince (Sr) gave me the name. Vince Sr dies, Vince Jr takes over. Right when Hulk Hogan takes off, we get a call Marvel comics. ‘You’re infringing on our mark. Reasonably similar. We’re going to sue you, put you in litigation.’ We let them have the name, didn’t license the name. I only had to pay them one-tenth of 1%. That went from 1985 to 2005. In 2005, it’s over. Now, I can’t use Hulk Hogan anymore, and I’m red hot in 2005. I went to my attorney, ‘I don’t give a damn what deal you make, you’re going to make a deal because I need the name.’ What happened was, I got a one-year extension and I had to pay them 30% of everything I made. Movies, TV wrestling, they got 30% of everything, but if they decided to sell the name, they had to give me first shot at it. They couldn’t sell the name or do anything. Fair market value. All of a sudden, Marvel Comics gets in a bitchfest with WWE about intellectual properties, that they can’t re-air old Hulk Hogan matches. Marvel Comics lost. They owe Vince $35 million. They made a huge mistake. They said, ‘Instead of paying $35 million, how about we give you the Hulk Hogan name.’ I heard about it and went, ‘You screwed up now.’ Now, I don’t have to pay $35 million for the name, you have to sell it for me for fair money value,’ which is only $750 grand. I bought the name back. Vince wanted to buy the name from me. ‘Nah, I got this one.’ I bought the name back and I own everything.“ - Hulk Hogan

Hi Rockstars, One of my partners owns a list of almost 100k latin American college students that are interested in writing their college dissertation. We are about to launch a PSM campaign to test the list (these are mails of users that downloaded our app). But the startup needs cahsflow. So we are considering to sell the list. Not sure yet Do you know any brokers or interested people? What would you recommend? Is it legal to sell it? Thanks in advance.

If these folks could talk... They might disagree with the idea that passive income is a myth like Big Foot: - Michael Jackson (died 2009) Earnings in 2022: $75 million. Sources: Music catalog, Cirque du Soleil show, merchandising. - Elvis Presley (died 1977) Earnings in 2022: $110 million. Sources: Graceland tourism, music royalties, licensing deals. - Charles Schulz (died 2000) Earnings in 2022: $100 million. Sources: Peanuts licensing, TV specials, merchandise. - Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, died 1991) Earnings in 2022: $32 million. Sources: Book sales, TV and film adaptations, merchandise. - Bob Marley (died 1981) Earnings in 2022: $16 million. Sources: Music royalties, House of Marley products, merchandise. - John Lennon (died 1980) Earnings in 2022: $12 million. Sources: Beatles music catalog, solo work royalties. - Prince (died 2016) Earnings in 2022: $120 million. Sources: Music catalog sale, streaming royalties. - Marilyn Monroe (died 1962) Earnings in 2022: $8 million. Sources: Image licensing, merchandise, fragrance lines. - Albert Einstein (died 1955) Earnings in 2022: $10 million. Sources: Licensing of name and image for products and advertising. - David Bowie (died 2016) Earnings in 2022: $250 million. Sources: Catalog sale to Warner Chappell Music, ongoing royalties. - Whitney Houston (died 2012) Earnings in 2022: $55 million. Sources: Music catalog sale, hologram tour, biopic. - Kobe Bryant (died 2020) Earnings in 2022: $400 million. Sources: BodyArmor stake sale, Nike deal, book sales. - Freddie Mercury (died 1991) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $30 million. Sources: Queen music royalties, "Bohemian Rhapsody" biopic. - George Harrison (died 2001) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $25 million. Sources: Beatles catalog, solo work royalties. - Juice WRLD (died 2019) Earnings in 2022: $15 million. Sources: Music streaming, posthumous album releases. - Tupac Shakur (died 1996) Earnings in 2022: $11 million. Sources: Music royalties, merchandise, estate deals. - Charles M. Schulz (died 2000) Earnings in 2022: $100 million. Sources: Peanuts licensing, TV specials, merchandise. - Bing Crosby (died 1977) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $10-15 million. Sources: Music royalties, licensing of "White Christmas". - Roald Dahl (died 1990) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $20 million. Sources: Book sales, movie and theater adaptations. - Stan Lee (died 2018) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $10 million. Sources: Marvel comics and movie royalties. - Leonard Cohen (died 2016) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $5-10 million. Sources: Music royalties, licensing of "Hallelujah". - J.R.R. Tolkien (died 1973) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $500 million. Sources: Book sales, movie and TV adaptations. - Frank Sinatra (died 1998) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $5-10 million. Sources: Music royalties, licensing deals. - Bob Ross (died 1995) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $15-20 million. Sources: Merchandise, licensing deals, streaming revenue. - Jenni Rivera (died 2012) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $7 million. Sources: Music royalties, book sales, TV series. - Kurt Cobain (died 1994) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $8-10 million. Sources: Nirvana music royalties, merchandise. - Selena (died 1995) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $8 million. Sources: Music royalties, makeup line, Netflix series. - James Dean (died 1955) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $5-7 million. Sources: Image licensing, merchandise. - Bruce Lee (died 1973) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $7 million. Sources: Image licensing, merchandise, video games - Avicii (Tim Bergling, died 2018) Earnings in 2022: Estimated $5-10 million. Sources: Music royalties, posthumous album release.