How much Mariah Carey makes from ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas / There is just one thing I need / An answer to just one question / An estimate of Mariah Carey’s song royalties, please?”

No, my makeshift lyrics aren’t as catchy as the opening lines of Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the 1994 jingle that became practically ubiquitous over the airwaves around holiday season.

But they do pose a question that probes into the black box of music-industry economics: How much money does the song earn for Carey, the song’s performer and so-called “Queen of Christmas,” each year?

Revenue estimates by Billboard suggest she made 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 like Christmas TV specials.

But it’s hard to know a precise sum, largely because contractual details between Carey, her music label and song publishers aren’t public, experts said. The pop star’s publicist, Chris Chambers, didn’t return a request for comment submitted to his firm, The Chamber Group, about her royalties.

“Whatever it is, it’s a lot of money,” said Natasha Chee, a music, entertainment and intellectual property attorney at law firm Donahue Fitzgerald.

Spotify announced this month that the anthem was the first-ever holiday song to surpass 2 billion global streams. It has been the No. 1 song globally on Christmas Day each 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 music industry data.

(As of Dec. 12, total U.S. streams of the song this year were down 8% relative to 2023, Billboard estimated. That’s partly a function of the shorter holiday season from a late Thanksgiving, experts said.)

The song “is a money machine,” said George Howard, a professor at the Berklee College of Music and former president of Rykodisc, an independent record label. “It’s a real phenomenon,” he said.

Howard, who also does consulting work to value music copyrights, estimates the chart-topper makes $2 million to $4 million in annual gross revenue.

Similarly, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which specializes in music industry law, estimates the hit generates $3.4 million a year.

Over its 30-year existence, the song has made about $103 million in earnings, the law firm estimates. The projections include global streaming and non-streaming revenue sources, according to Manatt, which created Billboard’s royalty calculator.

The song’s 2 billion…