{"id":203897,"date":"2025-12-25T22:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/203897\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T22:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T22:04:09","slug":"how-much-does-mariah-carey-make-over-christmas-top-hits-royalties-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/203897\/","title":{"rendered":"How much does Mariah Carey make over Christmas? Top hits royalties revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hit Christmas songs continues to deliver major financial rewards for artists decades after its release, with festive favourites generating millions of pounds each year.<\/p>\n

Music industry figures show that a single successful Christmas track can provide performers and songwriters with a dependable annual income well into the future.<\/p>\n

Mariah Carey remains the highest earner from festive music thanks to her song All I Want for Christmas Is You.<\/p>\n

The track was released in 1994 and has become one of the most-played Christmas songs worldwide.<\/p>\n

Industry estimates cited by Forbes and The Economist suggest Ms Carey earns between \u00a31.8million and \u00a32.24million in royalties from the song each year.<\/p>\n

The track has repeatedly topped streaming charts every December and is regularly licensed for advertising and commercial use.<\/p>\n

By 2017, the song had generated more than \u00a344.8million in total revenue since its release.<\/p>\n

Ms Carey co-wrote the track with Walter Afanasieff, who also receives a share of the royalties.<\/p>\n

British band Slade also continue to earn significant sums from their festive hit Merry Christmas Everybody.<\/p>\n

The song was released in 1973 and reached number one in the UK singles chart the same year.<\/p>\n

\"Mariah<\/p>\n

Mariah Carey remains the highest earner from festive music thanks to her song All I Want for Christmas Is You<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

Songwriter and lead singer Noddy Holder, who co-wrote the track with Jim Lea, is estimated to earn around \u00a31million annually from the song.<\/p>\n

December remains the strongest month for earnings due to consistent radio airplay and streaming.<\/p>\n

Media estimates reported by The Sun suggest the song has generated around \u00a350million in total revenue over its lifetime.<\/p>\n

The track continues to re-enter the UK charts each year during the festive period.<\/p>\n

Wham!\u2019s Last Christmas remains one of the most played Christmas songs globally.<\/p>\n

George Michael wrote the song in 1984, with the single famously reaching number two in the UK charts.<\/p>\n

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n

The top spot was held by Band Aid\u2019s Do They Know It\u2019s Christmas?<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

The song was held off the top spot by Band Aid\u2019s Do They Know It\u2019s Christmas?, which Mr Michael also performed on.<\/p>\n

Industry estimates place the annual royalties from Last Christmas at around \u00a3300,000.<\/p>\n

The song is consistently ranked among the highest-earning Christmas tracks in the UK.<\/p>\n

When the single was released, Wham! donated all proceeds to the Ethiopian famine appeal.<\/p>\n

Following George Michael\u2019s death on December 25 2016, aged 53, his estate continued the practice of donating royalties to charity.<\/p>\n

All income from the song continues to be passed on to charitable causes.<\/p>\n

Roy Wood also earns a significant annual income from his festive song I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.<\/p>\n

The track was released in 1973 by his band Wizzard.<\/p>\n

Industry estimates suggest the song generates around \u00a3180,000 in royalties each year.<\/p>\n

It was released on the same day as Slade\u2019s Merry Christmas Everybody.<\/p>\n

Both songs continue to chart regularly during the festive season.<\/p>\n

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday has appeared in the UK charts every year since 2007.<\/p>\n

The song has already returned to the top 40 during the current festive period.<\/p>\n

Shakin\u2019 Stevens earns an estimated \u00a310,000 per year from his 1985 hit Merry Christmas Everyone.<\/p>\n

The majority of the royalties from the song go to its lyricist Bob Heatlie.<\/p>\n

Industry figures suggest Heatlie earns around \u00a3130,000 annually from the track.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/p>\n

Festive songs benefit from repeated annual exposure, unlike most chart releases<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

Royalty earnings typically come from streaming, radio play, downloads and licensing agreements.<\/p>\n

Festive songs benefit from repeated annual exposure, unlike most chart releases.<\/p>\n

Music analysts say this makes Christmas hits among the most valuable assets in popular music.<\/p>\n

Once established, successful festive tracks often generate income for multiple generations.<\/p>\n

As streaming continues to dominate music consumption, royalty revenues from Christmas classics remain stable.<\/p>\n

Industry experts expect established festive songs to continue generating significant earnings for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hit Christmas songs continues to deliver major financial rewards for artists decades after its release, with festive favourites…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46,2101],"class_list":{"0":"post-203897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel","12":"tag-money"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}