All I Want For Christmas Is You: How much does Mariah Carey make each year?

Singer’s festive song is one of the most popular of all time

Roisin O'Connor,Clarisse Loughrey
Wednesday 22 December 2021 11:08 GMT
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4 Facts You Didn't Know About Mariah Carey's Christmas Classic

As part of Christmas tradition as mince pies, sleigh bells and arguing with your loved ones, Mariah Carey's “All I Want for Christmas” is an undisputed holiday classic.

First released in 1994, the song seems to achieve more popularity each year. It’s not surprise, then, that Carey makes a tidy sum every year through royalties.

Celebrity Net Worth calculates that Carey receives somewhere between £450,000 and £750,000 each December from “All I Want For Christmas Is You” alone.

It is thought that in the UK she makes around £380,000 annually from the tune. It’s hard to be certain exactly how much Carey earns, as the Performing Right Society (PRS) does not reveal the answer in the interest of protecting its members’ privacy.

However, research carried out for Channel 5 in 2016 did attempt to find the answer and concluded the top earning songs every year are as follows:

  1. “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade £1m (in royalties per year)
  2. “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl £400,000
  3. “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey £400,000
  4. “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby £328,000
  5. “Last Christmas” by Wham! £300,000
  6. “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney £260,000
  7. “Stop the Cavalry” by Jona Lewie £120,000
  8. “2000 Miles” by The Pretenders £102,000
  9. “Mistletoe and Wine” by Cliff Richard £100,000
  10. “Stay Another Day” by East 17 £97,000

Carey also receives thousands of dollars every year from streaming services such as Spotify, topping playlists often as early as November.

Other “All I Want for Christmas Is You”-related projects generate even more revenue, such as Carey’s 2017 direct-to-video animation,Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. The film follows a young girl, Mariah, who dreams of getting a puppy for Christmas year after year.

Read more about the top-earning Christmas songs here.

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