How much Mariah Carey makes from All I Want for Christmas Is You every year

Her holiday anthem All I Want for Christmas Is You is played in retail shops, cars and homes across the world throughout the festive period.

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As the song climbs to the top of the music charts at the end of each year, it generates the singer a staggering amount in royalties.

Since its 1994 release, it has become the most-streamed Christmas song of all time, making Carey an estimated $4.6-6.9 million in royalties each year, according to The Sun.

By 2023, the track was reported to have generated Carey more than $172m, per the outlet.

Carey has said in the past that she is surprised by the success of the song but that her love for the holidays is genuine.

She told Billboard in 2021 that when she wrote the song, she had “no idea” about the impact it would go on to have.

“How could I? It was so early on in my career and most young artists, at that time, weren’t really making Christmas music at the onset of their careers.

“The record really has brought me full circle, and I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”

She looks forward to Christmas “the whole year round” and regularly celebrates in Aspen, according to The Sun.

“We do all sorts of things. We go on a sleigh ride with the kids and my extended family, I cook, Santa Claus comes over.”

She is currently performing a series of holiday-themed shows as part of her Christmas Time in Las Vegas residency.

All I Want for Christmas Is You made Carey the first artist to top the US Billboard Hot 100 music chart in four different decades, and the song repeatedly summits charts in multiple countries year on year.

When writing the track, Carey aimed to tap into “a bittersweet mixture of longing and festiveness”, she told Billboard.

“I had grown up wishing I could have a functional family Christmas like the ones I saw on TV or in the movies, but truth is… that never happened. So, I wrote the song for the little girl in me filled with holiday spirit."

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First published by NZ Herald, republished here with permission + edits. 

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