The ethics of posthumous pop albums

00:00 05:33

Graeme Thomson has narrated this article for you to listen to.

‘At the record company meeting/ On their hands – at last! – a dead star!’ Back when Morrissey was more concerned with writing a decent lyric than sour internet tirades, ‘Paint a Vulgar Picture’ by the Smiths summed it all up rather neatly: a living pop star is all well and good, but a dead one is far less troublesome – and considerably more profitable. Some artists only really get going once they’re dead. Commercially speaking, Eva Cassidy’s entire career has been posthumous; the Van Gogh of the lustreless Radio 2 ballad.

Death has been a boon to the pop industry since the year dot. Buddy Holly’s ‘It Doesn’t Matter Anymore’ and Eddie Cochran’s ‘Three Steps to Heaven’ reached number one in 1959 and 1960, respectively, hot on the heels of their untimely demise. Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay’ was rush released in January 1968, shortly after the soul singer died in a plane crash. Redding regarded the song as unfinished and had plans to re-record it. Stax put it out anyway.

Which brings us to the heart of the matter. The recycling of existing product, however scrappy, after an artist dies is a given. Tupac Shakur released four albums while alive and at least seven dead. David Bowie’s career is considerably busier than it was in the decade before his passing in 2016. From Elvis to Amy, the beat goes on.

More contentious is the completion and release of work which is unfinished when a musician dies. This is the case with two new album releases. Acclaimed and influential British electronic musician Sophie died in 2021, aged 34, from an accidental fall.