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Kurt Cobain Net Worth: Take A Look At Nirvana Frontman's $450 Empire

Kurt Cobain's net worth, at the time of his death, was valued at $100 million. Twenty one years ago, he took his own life with a self-inflicted shotgun in his Seattle home. Since then, the battle for his multi-million estate has been controversial after he left all his assets under "interstate" to his wife, Courtney Love, and only daughter Frances Cobain.

According to CNBC, Cobain's estate is worth $450 million. Reports claim that Nirvana's frontman left a sprawling fortune that has grown even two decades after his death. Love, in the midst of controversies, claimed that much of the rocker's empire is nearly gone, but it reportedly can't be denied that Cobain's image, songs, albums, streams and public rights are still earning much up to the present time.

Over the years, after Cobain's death, there has been a battle over his $450 million empire especially when it comes to use of his name. Love came under fire for many of her management decisions until their only daughter Frances Cobain assumed 37 percent of her father's estate and her trust fund when she reached 18, Go Banking Rates reports.   

"Kurt Cobain was a titan in pop culture," said Larry Mestel, CEO of Primary Wave, a company responsible for the publishing rights to a large fraction of Nirvana's catalogs from 2006 until 2013. "He is one of a very small handful of artists that I consider the absolute peak of credibility and value when it comes to copyrights and music."

Mestel said that Cobain's catalogs are continuously earning in a steady rate even during the time when some of other artist's catalogs are dropping in sales. At that time, Mestel purchased part of the publishing rights from Cobain's widow, Love, who owns over 98 percent of the rocker's publishing rights.

Dave Bakula, senior vice president at Nielsen, claimed that Nirvana sold a total of 350,000 albums in 2013 and 900,000 singles. As of 2013, Nirvana's record music sales sum up to $4.4 million. There's also revenue coming from YouTube online streams, merchandise, radio plays and more.

This reportedly means that Cobain's empire could grow more than $450 million, especially after the rock band was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 10.

Cobain's net worth all came from his dedication as a rock artist. He is known for his smash hits such as "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," "All Apologies," "Lithium," and "I Hate Myself and I want to Die," among others. He also marked the beginning of "Generation X" through his band Nirvana.

The rock star's net worth increased more after the release of his last album "Utero" in 1993. The band was hailed as the most successful rock band in the world. Much of the accolades he received also placed him in the list of 22 Greatest Music Voices, 100 Greatest Metal Singers of All Time, and Rolling Stone's 73rd Greatest Guitarist and Greatest Singer of All Time.

Although Cobain's net worth remains at $100 million, Charles R. Cross, author of several books about Cobain, claims that the Nirvana frontman's estate is still an "extremely lucrative business." The estate still earns millions, and Nirvana is still one of the biggest catalog artists," he adds.


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