Jimmy Buffett is More Work Than Play

The leisure activist has a brand to manage.

Musician Jimmy Buffett helps open Box Office for "Escape To Margaritaville" on Broadway at Marquis Theatre on December 8, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Musician Jimmy Buffett helps open Box Office for "Escape To Margaritaville" on Broadway at Marquis Theatre on December 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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Jimmy Buffett, music’s most celebrated vacationer, is working harder than ever. A new profile in the New York Times catches Buffett as he prepares for his musical “Escape to Margaritaville” to hit Broadway. Though Buffett’s brand is inextricably tied to leisure and choosing the beach over the office, his brand has become so massive as to require a dramatically different work ethic than the one glorified in his songs. Buffett employs a whopping 5,000 people and has his name on everything from hotels to frozen drink makers to restaurants to barbecue sauces. “Escape to Margaritaville” makes obvious the enduring popularity of the Buffett story.

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