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Mariah Carey performs “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.
Gilberto Flores | Penske Media | fake images
“I don’t want much for Christmas / I just need one thing / An answer to just one question / A Mariah Carey song copyright estimate, please?”
No, my improvised lyrics aren’t as catchy as the opening lines of Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the 1994 jingle that became virtually ubiquitous on the airwaves during the holiday season.
But they do raise a question that delves into the black box of the music industry’s economics: how much money does the song generate for Carey, the song’s performer and the so-called “christmas queen“every year?”
Income estimates for Billboard suggest that he earned perhaps $2.7 million to $3.3 million in 2022, for example, from song downloads and on-demand streaming. It excludes other potentially lucrative revenue streams, such as TV Christmas specials.
But a precise sum is difficult to know, largely because contractual details between Carey, her record label and song publishers are not public, experts said. The pop star’s publicist, Chris Chambers, did not respond to a request for comment sent to his firm, The Chamber Group, about his royalties.
“Whatever it is, it’s a lot of money,” said Natasha Chee, a music, entertainment and intellectual property attorney at the Donahue Fitzgerald law firm.
The song may have grossed $103 million since 1994.
“All I Want for Christmas is You” is a Christmas monster.
Spotify announced This month, the anthem was the first Christmas song to surpass 2 billion global streams. It has been the No. 1 song globally on Christmas Day every year since 2016, Spotify said.
The tune’s popularity has only grown: Total U.S. audio streams rose to 249 million in 2023, up about 49% from 167 million in 2019, according to Luminate, which tracks data from the music industry.
(As of Dec. 12, the song’s total U.S. streams this year were down 8% relative to 2023, Billboard estimated. That’s partly due to the shortened holiday season due to a Day of Action of late Thanksgiving, experts said).
The song “is a money-making machine,” said George Howard, a professor at Berklee College of Music and former president of Rykodisc, an independent record label. “It’s a real phenomenon,” he said.
Mariah Carey performs on stage during her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” tour at Madison Square Garden on December 15, 2019 in New York City.
Kevin Mazur | Getty Images Entertainment | fake images
Howard, who also does consulting work valuing music royalties, estimates that the chart-topper earns between $2 million and $4 million in annual grosses.
Similarly, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which specializes in music industry law, estimates that success generates $3.4 million a year.
Over its 30 years of existence, the song has generated about $103 million in profits, the law firm estimates. The projections include global streaming and non-streaming revenue sources, according to Manatt, who created the Billboard program. royalty calculator.
The song’s 2 billion global streams on Spotify alone generated $9.8 million in royalties, according to the calculator.
But Carey only receives a portion of those profits.
Why Carey is likely to get paid ‘six times over by Sunday’
Mariah Carey performs during the opening show of Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas Is You at the Beacon Theater on December 5, 2016 in New York City.
Jeff Kravitz | Filmmagic, Inc. | fake images
The music royalty ecosystem is notoriously complicated.
The money flows to many contributors, such as writers, performers, producers, sound mixers and record labels. Payments to each person can vary from song to song, depending on contractual terms, experts said.
The terms of Carey’s royalty agreements are not public knowledge.
“Whatever it is, it’s a lot of money,” said , a music, entertainment and intellectual property attorney at the Donahue Fitzgerald law firm.
Natasha Chee
Senior Attorney at Donahue Fitzgerald
The singer likely takes a “bigger share” of income than most artists, Howard said. This is due to Carey’s multiple credits on the song: she is listed as the sole performer, as well as co-writer and co-producer. (Walter Afanasieff is the other co-writer and co-producer.)
It’s unusual to see such a multitude of credits, Howard said. And it’s a major factor in Carey’s final take-home pay.
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Music royalties are different from those for other works such as books or photographs.
That’s because there are two separate royalty streams: one for music composition and one for sound recording, said Jordan Bromley, partner and principal at Manatt Entertainment. Think of the former as the sheet music that’s on your piano (the composition), and the latter as the recorded song you hear, he said.
Each has its own royalty structure. Royalties for musical composition are received by songwriters and publishers, while those for sound recording are paid to performers and their record labels, Howard said.
Carey “has the copyright to the song and the sound recording, so he gets paid for both parts,” Howard said.
“You will be paid six times until Sunday,” he said.
Svetikd | E+ | fake images
A song’s writers and publishers, and not its performers, get royalties when a song is played in a public space, such as on television and radio, or in restaurants and retail stores, experts said. The United States is one of the few countries that has that rule, Howard said.
This means that Carey (and Afanasieff, her co-writer) receive royalties every time a version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is played in the public domain. More than 150 artists have covered the song. according to ASCAP, a performing rights organization.
Carey and Afanasieff split their writing credits with publishers such as Universal Music, Sony Music, and Kobalt Songs Music Publishing. according to ASCAP.
However, recording songs typically generates four to five times the income of songwriting, Bromley said.
“If you’re a songwriter with no record income, it’s hard to make a living even if you’re making hits,” he said.
The artist’s share of recording revenue relative to that of the label can range widely, from 20% to 90%, depending on the contract, Bromley said. “All I Want for Christmas is You” was released by Columbia Records, owned by Sony Music.
Afanasieff, Sony Music and Kobalt Songs Music Publishing did not respond to requests for comment. Universal Music Publishing Group declined to comment.
Why Carey may have earned more than $2.7 million in 2022
Santa Claus and Mariah Carey during a pre-tape performance for NBC’s Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center on November 27, 2012 in New York City.
James Devaney | Wire image | fake images
Experts note that revenue from record sales and licensing can vary greatly from year to year, while revenue from streaming and performance is more predictable.
Of the aforementioned estimated $8.5 million in global revenue and publishing royalties that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” earned in 2022, Carey’s master recording generated $5.3 million and publishing royalties accounted for the remaining $3.2 million, Billboard said.
What was Carey’s part?
He earned about $1.9 million from the proceeds from recording the master, Billboard estimated, while his label, Sony, took the other $3.4 million.
You will be paid six times until Sunday.
George Howard
professor at Berklee College of Music
Carey also earned approximately $1.6 million from the publication, assuming she and Afanasieff split the writing 50/50. But his take-home pay would have been less, depending on his publishing deal, perhaps ranging from $795,000 to $1.4 million, Billboard said.
In total, these estimates suggest that Carey may have earned between $2.7 and $3.3 million from the recording and release in 2022.
This excludes revenue from any financial deals for soundtracks for Christmas television specials, which are likely to be lucrative, according to Billboard. It also excludes covers of the song.
“There’s a lot of revenue opening up” for a pop star who almost “co-brands” with Christmas, including deals for brand endorsements, live performances, cosmetics, home goods and apparel, he said. Bromley by Manatt Entertainment.
The Gift That Keeps Giving
Image Alliance | Image Alliance | fake images
The song is the gift that will keep on giving for years, experts said.
Copyright for works published after January 1, 1978 generally remains intact during the author’s lifetime, plus 70 years after his death, according to Donahue Fitzgerald’s Chee.
In the case of a joint work with two or more authors, such as “All I Want for Christmas is You”, the rule applies to the last surviving author.
That means Carey’s estate will likely collect royalties for decades, until the song eventually enters the public domain, he said. When that happens, the song would join the ranks of Christmas classics like “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” which can generally be freely shared and adapted.
