Here's How Much Mariah Carey Earns For Her Christmas Classic
It's Mariah Carey's gift to the world that just keeps on giving. Whether you can stand her or not, Carey's 1994 hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" can be heard leading up to the holiday season at every mall, during every Christmas party, or even on the streets themselves. As the Daily Mail dished, the 25-year-old single that's given Carey the nickname "The Queen of Christmas" was actually written in just 90 minutes!
"When I first made the record, it wasn't as big a hit as it is now," Carey explained in Mariah Carey is Christmas, a mini-documentary released by Amazon in December of 2019. "It's grown in popularity over the years ... I just remember ... wanting it to feel like a classic." Sure enough, the song is a complete classic. Even more, it's a cultural phenomenon, having endured countless mashups and even viral internet memes.
As it turns out, 2019 must have been an extra special holiday season for Mimi, since her Christmas jingle finally hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 charts for the first time since it came out over two decades ago. Needless to say, Carey couldn't' hide her excitement. To celebrate Mariah's Mistletoe Milestone, let's see exactly how much money Mariah Carey still makes for "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
Mariah Carey makes 'more than you could ever know'
Although Mariah Carey isn't releasing music as quickly as she was during her '90s heyday, she doesn't really need to — considering "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is such a glorious moneymaker for the diva.
According to an article published by The Economist in 2017, Mimi's hit earned over a whopping $60 million since it's release. That's a rate of $2.6 million per year over 23 years, meaning that it's probably earned at least another $5.2 million since then. That's a ho-ho-whole lot of cash.
What's more, the song won't stop growing, and, per CNN, it's Spotify's "most-streamed Christmas song of all time." Let's not forget YouTube, either, as the music video was added in 2009 and has amassed more than 605 million views. Not bad for a song that Carey didn't even think was going to be such a pop classic.
Although Spotify decided not to return CNN's request for comment regarding royalties, a study done by Broadband Deals notes that "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has already earned more than $2 million since it was first added to the streaming platform — and it can only grow further from there. Considering Spotify pays its artists $0.00437 per play, that's a lot of streams. "People love every inch of this song," Randy Jackson perfectly explained in Carey's documentary, adding, "When you say Christmas ... Mariah Carey is Christmas."
And frankly, this is a much better way for the singer to end the year than Mariah Carey's disastrous 2016 New Year's Eve performance, don't you think?