Hong Kong veteran singer Frances Yip shared her career journey in an interview on the show “Weekly Stars” on July 12. Reflecting on the success brought by the theme song of the classic Hong Kong drama “The Bund” released in 1980, Yip revealed that this iconic song has been a continuous source of income for her. With a contract allowing her to receive royalties for 50 years, she has already received payments for 46 years and has 4 more years of revenue ahead.
The 1980 TV series “The Bund,” starring Chow Yun-fat, Angie Chiu, and Ray Lui, quickly became a sensation in the Chinese-speaking world. The theme song, sung by Frances Yip, became an instant classic. The contract signed between EMI and Yip stipulated that as long as the song remained in the catalog, she could receive royalties for 50 years. This provision was later inherited by “Universal Music” and remains valid to this day.
While the exact annual figures of royalties from the song “The Bund” for Frances Yip are not disclosed, she has revealed some key data in multiple interviews. Since the release of the song in 1980, she has accumulated royalties worth millions of Hong Kong dollars over the past 46 years. Each year, she receives two checks, and this income stream will continue until 2030, offering her 4 more years of earnings.
In addition to traditional record sales royalties, in recent years, the rise of digital music platforms has made downloads and streaming income from mainland Chinese music apps another important revenue source. Whenever various compilation albums include “The Bund,” royalties are generated and shared. Yip disclosed that these channels continue to contribute to her income.
Thanks to the royalties from “The Bund,” Frances Yip achieved financial freedom at an early stage. She recalled that the amount on her first royalty check was “big enough to buy a floor in those days.” Subsequently, she adopted a strategy of “make money, buy property,” and at its peak, she owned 16 properties worldwide, including in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Her friend, Roman Tam, jokingly called her the “international landlady.” Currently, she retains 6 properties, with a monthly rental income reaching tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars for a thousand square feet unit in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.
In the Chinese music industry of the 1980s, the royalty system of multinational record companies was relatively mature. The 50-year royalty rights granted by EMI to Frances Yip were extremely favorable conditions at that time. In contrast, due to rampant piracy and opaque distribution channels in mainland China at that time, many creators could not receive their rightful royalties. Yip’s case demonstrates how a healthy contractual system can allow a song to continue creating value across half a century, becoming a model of positive circulation in the music industry.
Data shows that “The Bund” was written by James Wong and composed by Joseph Koo in 1980 for the TV series of the same name. It is worth mentioning that James Wong had a sudden inspiration in the bathroom and wrote the classic lines “Tides surge, great rivers flow, ten thousand miles torrential waves ceaselessly.” He then collaborated with Joseph Koo, who was in Canada, over a transoceanic phone call to complete the music score without using fax machines, deemed an “improvisational miracle” in music history.
For Frances Yip, even after the expiration of the 50-year royalty period, this classic song as an intellectual property can still generate income through concerts, commercial licenses, and other forms. Yip stated that as long as there are people requesting her to perform, she will not retire from the stage. With regards to still receiving two checks annually, Yip cheerfully exclaimed, “very good, very happy.”