The following is a list of the most expensive albums made with a recorded sum of over $1 million, sorted by the most money spent in promotional campaigns and album covers. The recording process traditionally requires an investment in studio time and skilled record production labor, and the process can be expensive.[1]
In the late 1950s, the cost of producing pop albums ran from $3,000 to $7,000.[2] The average cost of producing an album climbed to $15,000 in the 1960s.[3] Early examples of record-breaking expensive albums include Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) with a reported sum of £25,000,[4][a] alongside Tommy (1969) and Pet Sounds (1966) each with a cost of $70,000,[6][7] as well as unfinished album Smile whose single "Good Vibrations" (1966) alone had a budget between $50,000 and $75,000,[b] more than most entire albums cost in those days.[9] Multiple albums were budgeted with a cost between $350,000 and $500,000 by late 1970s,[10] whereas popular rock albums had an average of $100,000 and as high as $500,000 by the midpoint of the decade.[11][c] Some albums were produced on a $1 million budget by 1981.[10] Accountant John McClain gave an estimated cost of $2.5 million for a Michael Jackson record in 1987.[14] Nowadays, according to IFPI, production costs for popular albums are "generally budgeted for at least $200,000, and if much studio time is used, costs can soar well past $350,000".[1] Some artist's sponsorships covered the cost of producing the album, most notoriously Mariah Carey between the Bahamas Board of Tourism with her album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009).[15][16]
The first album to cost over $1 million is believed to be Tusk (1979) by Fleetwood Mac.[17] Chinese Democracy (2008) by Guns N' Roses, once included as the most expensive record in the Guinness World Records, probably cost over $1 million per year during its recording sessions from 1998 to 2006.[18] With a cost between $30 and $40 million, Michael Jackson's Invincible (2001) remains the most expensive album ever produced.[19][20][21] Both Michael Jackson and Kanye West have multiple appearances, with at least four each.
- ^ a b Waldfogel, Joel (2020). Digital Renaissance. Princeton University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-691-20864-0. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ "A.&R. Impact". Billboard. September 21, 1959. p. 64. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ "Federal Excise Tax Structure". United States House Committee on Ways and Means. 1994. p. 881. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ Moore, Allan F. (1997). The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Cambridge University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-521-57484-6. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Loker, Bradford E. (2009). History with the Beatles. Dog Ear Publ. ISBN 978-1-60844-039-9. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Best, Kenneth (1992). Eight Days a Week: An Illustrated Record of Rock 'n' Roll. Pomegranate Artbooks. ISBN 978-1-56640-026-8. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Horning, Nicole (2018). Pop Music: Chart-Toppers Throughout History. Greenhaven Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-5345-6541-8. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (March 23, 2005). "Brian Wilson polishes his early masterpiece". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Patrick Bell, Adam (2018). Dawn of the DAW: The Studio as Musical Instrument. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-029663-6. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Selz, Thomas D.; Simensky, Melvin (1983). "Entertainment Law: Legal Concepts and Business Practices". 1. Shepard's/McGraw-Hill. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Dominick, Joseph R. (1983). Dominick:Mass Media Basics. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-201-10251-2. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Taruskin, Richard (1983). Music in the Late Twentieth Century: The Oxford History of Western Music. Oxford University Press. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-19-979600-7. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Blake, Mark (2011). Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen. Hachette Books. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-306-81973-5. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ "Corporate Profile". Black Enterprise. Vol. 18, no. 4. November 1987. p. 57. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Careywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Harlow, John (August 30, 2009). "Mariah Carey has the perfect sales pitch". The Times. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Coffman, Tim (June 4, 2023). "The first album that cost over $1million to make". Far Out. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ "Nobody Stayed The Course". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 51. December 23, 2006. p. 32. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Jacksonwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
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