Every holiday season, one song dominates the airwaves, department store playlists and festive parties: Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Despite being released three decades ago, Carey is still reaping the benefits of the record-breaking Christmas classic, pulling in an estimated millions of dollars in royalties each year.
Each year, Carey earns an estimated $2.5 to $3 million from royalties for the song, according to data from Forbes and The Economist.
As of 2017, the song had generated over $60 million through royalties since its release, according to an estimate by The Economist. Carey’s co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, is also expected to make a significant chunk of royalties. It is the most-streamed holiday track of all time.
In November each year, Carey shares a video on social media informing her followers that the holiday season can begin. This year’s offering showed Carey disciplining an unruly elf for stealing her lipstick, singing the phrase “it’s time” in a high-pitched voice before riding off in a sleigh.
She also embarks on an annual festive tour, with this year’s installment, Mariah Carey's Christmas Time, taking place at Dolby Live in Las Vegas from November 28 to December 13.
“All I Want for Christmas is You” is the highest-charting holiday single by a solo artist on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 and routinely lands on the music charts in dozens of countries year after year.
The Christmas anthem made history in 2021, when it became the first and only holiday song to win the RIAA’s Diamond Award, which recognizes 10 million sales and streaming units in the U.S.
After receiving the honor, the pop star said that the continued love for her song “never ceases to amaze me and fill my heart with a multitude of emotions.”
“It blows my mind that ‘All I Want For Christmas is You’ has endured different eras of the music industry,” she said.
She went on to perform the song at the Billboard Music Awards in 2023, marking her first awards show performance for the song, with her twins, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe, presenting her with a special Billboard Chart Achievement award.
