Mark Mothersbaugh is an undisputed musical genius.

First rising to prominence with the band Devo, most Americans will remember Mothersbaugh for shouting at us to “Whip it! (Whip it good)” in his timelessly goofy pop classic.

Even after Devo stopped cranking out the hits, Mothersbaugh kept playing. His music can be heard in several Wes Anderson movies, most notably in his iconic synth tracks from The Life Aquatic. He even had a turn as a supporting character on Nickolodeon’s Yo Gabba Gabba!

But throughout his whole lifetime of clever work, he’s never known financial success quite like what he’s experiencing now—thanks to a 50-year old B-track from Devo’s original album.

The song, Uncontrollable Urge, never drew that much attention … until it was chosen to play over the opening credits of Rob Dyrdek’s viral video clip show “Ridiculousness” on MTV.

MTV was once the cultural flagship of America’s youth, with shows like “Total Request Live” playing back all the hottest music videos from contemporary artists like Toni Braxton and Stone Temple Pilots. But with the rise of the internet and on-demand video, MTV has struggle to keep ratings up and retain its audience’s attention.

And “Ridiculousness” just so happens to be one of the network’s most consistently successful (and cost-efficient) shows. With celebrities reacting to short-form internet videos, it’s basically a direct competitor to popular social media apps like Tiktok and Instagram reels.

So as time goes on, Ridiculousness keeps finding its way into more and more time slots on MTV’s schedule. The network will frequently run multi-day marathons featuring multiple hours of Ridiculousness back-to-back. During one 36-hour period in 2020, MTV broadcast Ridiculousness exclusively — nothing else.

And of course, every time the show airs its opening credits … a new royalty payment is triggered. Mark Mothersbaugh estimates that he makes $1 million per year on royalties from this song alone, all thanks to MTV’s fixation on endlessly running it back. That’s compared to lifetime royalties of just $150,000 on the song from Spotify.

The irony of the situation isn’t lost on Mothersbaugh, of course, who has proudly told the media that Uncontrollable Urge is “easily the most played song on MTV, so [Devo] wins.”

So what can the 74-year-old musician do with his “motherlode” of royalties from a 50-year-old song? How can he best deploy a massive, unexpected windfall to improve not just his own future, but the future of his two daughters?

Whole life insurance is an extremely compelling option…

It would be possible for him to sign over the royalties of the song to his heirs. But passing along royalties can be complicated, time-consuming, and potentially trigger unexpected taxes. Royalty payments can also be inconsistent, which can lead to headaches for heirs as they begin to manage an inherited estate.

By redirecting a portion of his royalty income to funding a whole life insurance policy now, Mothersbaugh could pass along a tax-free liquid benefit in addition to those royalties. Having nearly-instant access to that kind of liquidity can be massively helpful during one of the most difficult days of one’s adult life.

And with MTV still running Ridiculousness nonstop, Mothersbaugh could also dedicate a large portion of his oversized income to paid-up additions — which would instantly start earning dividends and growing his cash value.

Or Mothersbaugh could do what so many other artists have done, and simply sell off his catalogue. Doing so allows musicians to capitalize on high valuations and avoid the hassle of planning an estate around fluctuating music royalties. Bruce Springsteen notoriously sold his catalogue for a whopping $500 million, and rock band Queen’s discography sold for an estimated $1.27 billion.

So Mothersbaugh could capitalize on the runaway success of Uncontrollable Urge and lock in a major payday for Devo’s discography to fund an even larger whole life insurance policy — giving him the flexibility to enjoy more of his own hard-earned money during his golden years while also passing down an even larger tax-free cash benefit to his daughters.

The policy could even work as a “rainy day fund” for Mothersbaugh in the event that his royalty income from MTV eventually dries up. He could take out tax-free loans against his cash value for charitable giving or to fund new creative projects.

And depending on the overall size of his estate, a properly-structured life insurance policy could also help minimize the impact of estate tax (which is currently levied on individuals with assets valued at $13.99 million or more) since the proceeds are effectively exempt from it.

There are dozens of different benefits and opportunities that suddenly open up once you have a well-funded, properly-structured life insurance policy. Too many benefits to cover here in detail.

But suffice it to say — whole life insurance is the best way to turn an unpredictable artistic income into a predictable legacy for the ones you love.

And this is true not just for musicians, but for actors, painters, writers — anyone who works in a “feast-or-famine” industry with massive windfalls and prolonged dry spells. If you’re mindful, and deploy the money from your windfalls carefully, then you’ll have a powerful asset to help get you through the “lean years” when they come later on.

This isn’t strictly a young man’s game, either. Whole life insurance can be a great choice at virtually any age. Even at a tender 74 years of age, Mark Mothersbaugh is still a prime candidate for funding a policy — especially since he has the income to fast-track his policy’s growth with paid-up additions.

So if you ever get that uncontrollable urge to make your best days last as long as possible, look to the unparalleled flexibility and rock-solid reliability of whole life insurance.

Key Takeaways

• Whole life insurance provides a stable, tax-efficient way to transform unpredictable royalty income into a reliable long-term legacy.
• Redirecting royalties into a whole life policy can offer heirs a tax-free, liquid inheritance, simplifying estate planning and reducing exposure to estate taxes.
• Paid-up additions on whole life policies accelerate cash value growth through dividends, enhancing wealth accumulation during high-income periods.
• Life insurance can serve as a financial safety net, offering tax-free loans against cash value for opportunities like charitable giving or funding creative projects.
• High-net-worth individuals with fluctuating income streams benefit from whole life insurance to manage wealth continuity and protect against future income unpredictability.
• Artists and creatives facing feast-or-famine income cycles can secure predictable financial stability for themselves and their families through whole life insurance.
• Properly structured life insurance helps mitigate estate tax liability for estates over $13.99 million by providing proceeds exempt from these taxes.

Ready to see how this could apply to your wealth plan? Click the big yellow Clarity Call button and let’s map it out together.