How much does Mariah Carey make from All I Want for Christmas is You each year?

Mariah Carey is the undisputed “queen of Christmas”. Every December, the singer's 1994 hit All I Want for Christmas is You returns to public consciousness as a de facto festive anthem, still climbing up global charts more than a quarter-century after it was released. No one understands the value of this phenomena better than Carey herself, who usually starts her publicity juggernaut a day after Halloween. Carey, who co-wrote the earworm with Walter Afanasieff, ends the song’s hibernation with posts on social media that “it’s time” to play it again. This year, she emerged from a block of ice to make the declaration. In 2019, the single, from Carey's first Christmas album, Merry Christmas , topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts for the first time after 25 years. The song was back again at No 1 in 2020, and then in 2021. “I know it's corny, and I don't care,” she told The New York Times . “I don't need something else to validate the existence of this song. I used to pick it apart whenever I listened to it, but at this point, I feel like I'm finally able to enjoy it.” And it looks like the appeal of All I Want for Christmas is You is nowhere near fading. In December 2022, Carey announced the song had been streamed more than a billion times on Spotify. She also shared a new animated lyric video of the song, adding to the myriad iterations now in existence, including a duet with Justin Bieber in 2011. This year, Carey's promotional junket included the launch of a special Mariah Carey Barbie, as well as helping US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ring in the festive season at the White House. A 2017 report from The Economist estimates that Carey had earned more than $60 million from the track between its release in 1994 and 2016. According to Celebrity Net Worth , the song earns anywhere between $600,000 and $1 million in royalties each year. This makes the song one of Carey’s biggest international hits, having topped the charts in 26 countries. It’s also the best-selling Christmas single by a female artist, and one of the best-selling singles in music history, with an overall estimated sale of more than 16 million copies. Streaming is additional revenue source for artists. Apple pays an average play rate of $0.01, while Spotify says artists are paid up to two-thirds of every dollar they make from music streaming, according to foxbusiness.com . However, it's unclear how much of Carey's streaming revenue is separate from her royalties. Still, it's safe to say that Carey pockets millions every year from a song she wrote in 1994. Billboard has produced lists of top seasonal hits since 2010, and All I Want for Christmas is You has been No 1 for 57 of the 62 weeks it has run, according to chart director Gary Trust. Will Page, Spotify’s former chief economist and author of the book Pivot , told AP that he estimates the song will exceed $100 million in earnings this holiday season alone. Despite its merry theme, Carey and Afanasieff have had a falling out. Afanasieff, who worked with Carey on her albums Emotions and Music Box, told the Hot Takes & Deep Dives with Jess Rothschild podcast that his contributions have been written out of Carey's telling of the song's creation. “Mariah has been very wonderful, positive and a force of nature,” he told Variety in 1999. “She’s the one that made the song a hit and she’s awesome. But she definitely does not share credit where credit is due." On Good Morning America last month, Carey said: "I was working on it by myself so I was writing on this little Casio keyboard, writing down words and thinking about, ’What do I think about Christmas? What do I love? What do I want? What do I dream of? “And that’s what started it.” – Agencies contributed to this report

How much does Mariah Carey make from All I Want for Christmas is You each year?

Released in 1994, the pop star's song becomes the de facto festive anthem every year