Here's How Much Joni Mitchell Is Really Worth
Joni Mitchell may have "retired" from public life and the music industry, but that doesn't mean she stopped earning money. She's still worth a lot.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mitchell is worth $50 million on the back of her albums and a catalog of classic songs artists cover over and over again. Mitchell is a prolific artist, having released 19 albums since her first in 1968. Along with these studio albums, she's also come out with three live albums. Mitchell's last album, Shine, dropped in 2007, but several compilations of songs have also been released more recently. A few tribute albums by other musicians playing her songs have launched — one in 2007, and another in 2019. It's a result of her business savvy that Mitchell earned much of her fortune through her albums. Rolling Stone reported she produced all of her records, so she rarely shares the royalties with anyone else.
Still somehow she makes bank
Besides producing her own albums, Mitchell is one of the few artists to own her masters and rights to her songs, wrote Celebrity Net Worth, allowing her to collect 100 percent of those royalties. Mitchell's talent for songwriting ensured her songs take a life of its own. Other artists have sung her songs or sampled them – one such artist is Janet Jackson, who used parts of "Big Yellow Taxi," one of Mitchell's most famous songs, for her recording "Got 'Til It's Gone," per Encyclopedia Britannica. Aside from music, Mitchell paints, and has designed many of her own album covers. She's also an author, having released her memoirs and a collection of her poems and lyrics.
Mitchell pulled back from public life when she was diagnosed with Morgellons Disease, which causes a feeling of bugs crawling all over the skin. Billboard reported some medical professionals think Morgellons is a psychosomatic illness because it cannot be medically or scientifically substantiated. Mitchell also suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015, which further made her live a more quiet life.
Despite staying away from the industry, Mitchell continues to be celebrated. And as long as people want to listen and sing her songs, she's going to continue making money.