Personal Finance
How much Mariah Carey makes from ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’
Mariah Carey performs “All I Want for Christmas Is You” at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards.
Gilbert Flores | Penske Media | Getty Images
“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.
The song may have earned $103 million since 1994
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” is a yuletide juggernaut.
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.
Mariah Carey performs onstage during her “All I Want For Christmas Is You” tour at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15, 2019 in New York City.
Kevin Mazur | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
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 global Spotify streams alone earned $9.8 million in royalties, according to the calculator.
But Carey only gets a portion of those earnings.
Why Carey is likely getting paid ‘six ways to Sunday’
Mariah Carey performs during the opening show of Mariah Carey: All I Want For Christmas Is You at Beacon Theatre on Dec. 5, 2016 in New York City.
Jeff Kravitz | Filmmagic, Inc | Getty Images
The ecosystem of music royalties is notoriously convoluted.
Money flows to many contributors, like writers, performers, producers, sound mixers and record labels. Payouts to each person can vary from song to song, depending on contractual terms, experts said.
The terms of Carey’s royalty deals aren’t public knowledge.
“Whatever it is, it’s a lot of money,” said , a music, entertainment and intellectual property attorney at law firm Donahue Fitzgerald.
Natasha Chee
senior counsel at Donahue Fitzgerald
The singer is likely getting a “bigger chunk” of revenue than most artists, Howard said. That’s because of Carey’s multiple credits on the song: She’s listed as the sole performer, as well as its co-writer and co-producer. (Walter Afanasieff is the other co-writer and co-producer.)
Such a multitude of credits is unusual to see, Howard said. And it’s an important factor in Carey’s ultimate take-home pay.
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Music royalties are different from those of other works like books or photography.
That’s because there are two distinct royalty streams — one for music composition and another for sound recording, said Jordan Bromley, partner and head of Manatt Entertainment. Think of the former like the sheet music sitting on your piano (the songwriting), and the latter as the recorded song that you hear, he said.
Each has its own royalty structure. The royalties for music composition are received by songwriters and publishers, while those for sound recording are paid to song performers and their labels, Howard said.
Carey “has both the copyright to the song and the sound recording, so she’s getting paid on both sides,” Howard said.
“She’s getting paid six ways to Sunday,” he said.
Svetikd | E+ | Getty Images
A song’s writers and publishers — and not its performers — get the royalties when a song plays in a public space, such as on TV and radio, or in restaurants and retail stores, experts said. The U.S. is one of the few countries to have such a rule, Howard said.
This means that Carey (and Afanasieff, her co-writer) gets royalties whenever a cover version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” plays in the public domain. Over 150 performers have covered the song, according to ASCAP, a performing rights organization.
Carey and Afanasieff split their writing credits with publishers including Universal Music, Sony Music and Kobalt Songs Music Publishing, according to ASCAP.
However, song recording generally brings in four to five times the revenue of songwriting, Bromley said.
“If you’re a songwriter with no record revenue, it’s hard to make a living even if you’re making hits,” he said.
The artist’s take of the recording revenue relative to the label’s can swing widely, anywhere from 20% up to 90%, depending on the contract, Bromley said. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was released by Columbia Records, which is owned by Sony Music.
Afanasieff, Sony Music and Kobalt Songs Music Publishing didn’t return requests for comment. Universal Music Publishing Group declined comment.
Why Carey may have made over $2.7 million in 2022
Santa Claus and Mariah Carey during a pre-tape performance for NBC’s Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center on Nov. 27, 2012 in New York City.
James Devaney | Wireimage | Getty Images
Experts note that earnings from record sales and licensing can vary greatly from year to year, while revenue from streaming and performance is more predictable.
Of the aforementioned estimated $8.5 million in global revenue and publishing royalties that “All I Want for Christmas Is You” earned in 2022, the Carey master recording brought in $5.3 million and publishing royalties accounted for the remaining $3.2 million, Billboard said.
What was Carey’s cut?
She made about $1.9 million of the master recording revenue, Billboard estimated, while her label, Sony, kept the other $3.4 million.
She’s getting paid six ways to Sunday.
George Howard
professor at the Berklee College of Music
Carey also earned an estimated $1.6 million of the publishing, assuming she and Afanasieff split the writing 50-50. But her take-home pay would have been less, depending on her publishing deal — perhaps ranging from about $795,000 to $1.4 million, Billboard said.
All told, these estimates suggest Carey may have made about $2.7 million to $3.3 million from recording and publishing in 2022.
This excludes revenue from any financial arrangements for soundtracks from Christmas TV specials, which are likely lucrative, according to Billboard. It also excludes cover versions of the song.
“There’s a ton of revenue that opens up” for a pop star who is almost “co-branded” with Christmas, including deals for brand endorsements, live performances, cosmetics, home goods and apparel, Manatt Entertainment’s Bromley said.
The gift that keeps giving
Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
The song is the gift that will keep keep on giving for years, experts said.
The copyright for works published after Jan. 1, 1978, generally remains intact for the author’s lifetime, plus 70 years after the author’s death, according to Chee of Donahue Fitzgerald.
In the case of a joint work with two or more authors, such as “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the rule applies to the last surviving author.
That means Carey’s estate will likely rake in royalties for decades, until the song eventually passes into the public domain, she said. When that happens, the song would join the ranks of Christmas classics like “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” which can generally be freely shared and adapted.
Nitat Termmee | Moment | Getty Images
The U.S. job market isn’t looking too hot for recent college graduates and other job seekers, according to economists and labor experts.
“The job market is kind of trash right now,” said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, a career coach and personal finance expert.
“I mean, it’s really difficult,” she added. “It’s really difficult for people who have many years of experience, so it’s going to be difficult for college kids.”
‘Tough summer’ for job seekers
That may seem counterintuitive.
The national unemployment rate in May was relatively low, at 4.2%. The layoff rate has also been historically low, suggesting employers are holding on to their workers.
Yet, hiring has been anemic. The pace of employer hiring in April was the lowest in more than 10 years, since August 2014, excluding the early months of the Covid pandemic.
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The rate at which workers are quitting — a barometer of worker confidence about their job prospects — has also plummeted to below pre-pandemic levels, a stark reversal from the “great resignation” in 2021 and 2022.
“It will be a tough summer for anyone looking for full-time work,” Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in an e-mail Friday.
“This is an ‘abundance of caution economy’ where businesses are only filling critical positions and job seekers, especially recent graduates, are struggling to find employment,” she said.
Steady job market erosion ‘cannot continue forever’
While the job market may be limping along by some measures, Long also said a recession doesn’t seem “imminent.”
Businesses added more jobs than expected in May, for example. But those gains have slowed significantly — a worrisome sign, economists said.
Employers appear reluctant to hire in an uncertain economy.
CEO confidence plummeted in the second quarter of 2025, seeing its largest quarterly decline on record dating to 1976, according to a survey by The Conference Board. Uncertainty around geopolitical instability, trade and tariff policy were the largest business risks, according to Roger Ferguson Jr., the group’s chair emeritus.
The share of CEOs expecting to expand their workforce fell slightly, to 28% in Q2 from 32% in Q1, and the share planning to cut their workforce rose 1 point, to 28%.
“The steady erosion in the US job market cannot continue forever — at some point, there will just not be much left to give,” Cory Stahle, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote in an analysis Friday.
“In a low-hiring, slow-growth environment, employers can only hold onto their existing employees for so long before they too will have to be let go — increasing unemployment even as job opportunities continue to shrink,” Stahle wrote.
Don’t underestimate personal connections
Don’t underestimate the “power of personal connections” to help get noticed in a competitive job market like this one, said Woodruff-Santos, the career coach.
Her No. 1 piece of advice: Make yourself “uncomfortable” in order to network and build professional relationships.
“You need to put yourself in situations where you may not know everybody, you may not know one person, where you may actually need someone to give you a bit of a helping hand, and to feel confident and OK doing that,” Woodruff-Santos said.
If you’re pushed to accept a job you don’t love to make ends meet, make a plan to keep current in the field to which you aspire, she said.
In other words, build the skills that will eventually help you get that job, perhaps by taking a training course, getting a certificate or doing contract work, she said. Also, consider joining a professional organization, putting yourself in the same room as people in your desired field and with whom you can connect, she said.
These steps raise your chances of getting attention from future employers and keeping your skills sharp, Woodruff-Santos said.
She also had some words of encouragement.
“The job market has been trash before,” she said. “It’ll be trash again. This probably won’t be your first trash job market. And you’re going to be OK.”
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – MAY 30: United States President Donald Trump departs at the White House to U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania in Washington D.C May 30, 2025.
Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images
As the Senate weighs President Donald Trump‘s multi-trillion-dollar spending package, a lesser-known provision tucked into the House-approved bill has pushback from Wall Street.
The House measure, known as Section 899, would allow the U.S. to add a new tax of up to 20% on foreigners with U.S. investments, including multinational companies operating in the U.S.
Some analysts call the provision a “revenge tax” due to its wording. It would apply to foreign entities if their home country imposes “unfair foreign taxes” against U.S. companies, according to the bill.
“Wall Street investors are shocked by [Section] 899 and apparently did not see it coming,” James Lucier, Capital Alpha Partners managing director, wrote in a June 5 analysis.
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If enacted as written, the provision could have “significant implications for the asset management industry,” including cross-border income earned by hedge funds, private equity funds and other entities, Ernst & Young wrote on June 2.
Passive investment income could be subject to a higher U.S. withholding tax, as high as 50% in some cases, the company noted. Some analysts worry that could impact future investment.
The Investment Company Institute, which represents the asset management industry serving individual investors, warned in a May 30 statement that the provision is “written in a manner that could limit foreign investment to the U.S.”
But with details pending as the Senate assesses the bill, many experts are still weighing the potential impact — including who could be affected.
Here’s what investors need to know about Section 899.
How the ‘revenge tax’ could work
As drafted, Section 899 would allow the U.S. to hike existing levies for countries with “unfair foreign taxes” by 5% per year, capped at 20%.
Several kinds of tax fall under “unfair foreign taxes,” according to the provision. Those include the undertaxed profits rule, which is associated with part of the global minimum tax negotiated by the Biden administration. The term would also apply to digital services taxes and diverted profits taxes, along with new levies that could arise, according to the bill.
The second part of the measure would expand the so-called base erosion and anti-abuse tax, or BEAT, which aims to prevent corporations from shifting profits abroad to avoid taxes.
“Basically, all businesses that are operating in the U.S. from a foreign headquarters will face that,” said Daniel Bunn, president and CEO of the Tax Foundation. “It’s pretty expansive.”
The retaliatory measures would apply to most wealthy countries from which the U.S. receives direct foreign investment, which could threaten or harm the U.S. economy, according to Bunn’s analysis.
Notably, the proposed taxes don’t apply to U.S. Treasuries or portfolio interest, according to the bill.
‘Strong priority’ for House Republicans
Section 899 still needs Senate approval, and it’s unclear how the provision could change amid alarm from Wall Street.
But the measure has “strong support” from others in the business community, and it’s a “strong priority” for Republican House Ways and Means Committee members, Capital Alpha Partners’ Lucier wrote.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., first floated the idea in a May 2023 bill, and has been outspoken, along with other Republicans, against the global minimum tax.
If enacted as drafted, Section 899 could raise an estimated $116 billion over 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
That could help fund other priorities in Trump’s mega-bill, and if removed, lawmakers may need to find the revenue elsewhere, Bunn said.
However, House Ways and Means Republicans may ultimately want foreign countries to adjust their tax policies before the new tax is imposed.
“If these countries withdraw these taxes and decide to behave, we will have achieved our goal,” Smith said in a June 4 statement.
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