All I want for Christmas: What is the value of Mariah’s holiday hit?

Sascha: [00:00:02] From Equity Mates media. This is The Dive. I'm your host, Sascha Kelly. For retail workers, I'm just going to put it on the record. We are sorry. There is one thing more iconic than Santa when it comes to Christmas. And that's Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas. The song tops charts around the world. So today we wanted to unpack the business of it. It's Monday, the week of Christmas. And today I want to know what's the value of a Christmas song? To talk about this today, I'm joined by my colleague and the co-founder of Equity Mates. It's Alec Renehan. Alec, are you a fan of this Christmas hit? I sense hesitation. 

Alec: [00:01:02] As as much as anyone can be, I guess. 

Sascha: [00:01:05] I don't think that's. All in all. Yes, sir. I appreciate that you've spent time researching this. 

Alec: [00:01:11] Let me ask you, Sascha, is anyone a fan of a song after they hear it as many times as we hear this? 

Sascha: [00:01:17] That's true. I think. Have you done any retail shifts in your life? You're probably pretty over Christmas songs. But let's start with the basics of it. Can you tell me the history of all I Want for Christmas is you? 

Audio Clip: [00:01:28] The thing is, I always wanted Christmas to be perfect. 

Alec: [00:01:32] Yeah. So it was originally released on Mariah Carey's 1994 Merry Christmas album. And the story that goes along with this song is that Mariah claims she wrote the song in just 15 minutes. It was a gamble at the time. Releasing original holiday music wasn't really seen as something a lot of artists do. 

Audio Clip: [00:01:52] I was approached by the record company. This is like after I had done two albums and an EP, like somewhere in there, and they were like, Why don't you do a Christmas album? And I just felt like, Don't people usually do that later on in their career? 

Alec: [00:02:10] Most artists, and we'll get to that a little bit later. They choose to cover Christmas staples. But Mariah took the risk and clearly the risk is paid off. 

Sascha: [00:02:19] Yeah, the gamble paid off because the economists reported in 2017 that she'd earned over $60 million in royalties since its release. 

Alec: [00:02:28] Yeah, that's right. In 2017, the economists looked at the 13 most popular Christmas songs because together they just crossed 1 billion streams. Mariah's All I Want for Christmas is you accounted for 210 million of those streams. 

Sascha: [00:02:49] Wow. Well ahead. But in the five years since The Economist wrote that streaming has exploded, the landscape is completely different now. So what are the current stats?

Alec: [00:03:00] So in that time, the song has just gone from strength to strength. This year it actually broke a record. It's the first song in history to have four separate runs at number one on Billboard's charts. So it was number one at Christmas time in 2019. In 2020. In 2021. And in 2022. No other song in history has had four separate stints at number one. But turning to the financials, in 2017, The Economist reported that the song had 210 million streams in 2021 NPR reported that it crossed a billion streams. Pedestrian reports that the track now has 1,285,000,000 streams. Now, given that the average revenue per stream is $0.004, i.e 4/10 of a cent if we say in 2017 it had 210 million streams. Today it has 1.28 billion streams. So that's an extra billion strains in those five years at 4/10 of a cent per stream. We're talking $4 million, which actually doesn't feel that good. 

Sascha: [00:04:10] And it's just another reminder of just how little of the money collected actually ever gets to the artist. But Mariah, she's doing okay. I think she makes more than just Spotify streams because she's become a Christmas icon. 

Audio Clip: [00:04:25] Please welcome back to The Late Show Mariah Carey. 

Alec: [00:04:29] Yeah, that's right. The economists report that Mariah earns $3.6 million annually from the song. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Mariah Carey's royalties have clocked in at over $106 million in total. So given that she's not making that money from Spotify and Apple Music streams, the question is, where is she getting all that money from? And it's because she gets paid for a lot more than you and I playing it on Spotify. Every time the song is included on a Christmas movie or covered for a Christmas album or put in anything else around this time of year, Mariah is getting paid for the licence. 

Sascha: [00:05:06] Yeah, I mean, it's a centrepiece in love, actually. It's that pivotal scene right at the end, and that's one of the greatest Christmas movies ever. So I think she's done her work right there. 

Audio Clip: [00:05:17] Hello. Does Natalie live Here? 

Alec: [00:05:19] Except for the Hugh Grant character who is one of the most problematic world leaders ever. 

Audio Clip: [00:05:25] You know, the prime minister? Yes. In fact, we have. Merry Christmas.

Sascha: [00:05:30] We can take our discussion about love actually offline. 

Alec: [00:05:33] All I'm saying is, if Trump or Scomo acted exactly the same way he did, we wouldn't be thinking it's endearing. But Mariah has become the modern Christmas Day icon. Move over Santa Claus. It's now Mariah's time of year. Last year in the U.S., Target was even selling Mariah Carey Christmas wrapping paper. And there's a real business in being a Christmas icon, being the queen of Christmas. Mariah's team leans into it. The day after Halloween, she tweeted in all caps, it's time. With a video of her transitioning from Halloween to Christmas themed backgrounds. And it is her time of year. 

Sascha: [00:06:17] Yeah. Because when you say she leans into it, she really leans into it. In fact, she actually tried to trademark the phrase Queen of Christmas. 

Alec: [00:06:26] And she lost that trademark application earlier this year. 

Sascha: [00:06:30] And of course, retail workers all around the world hate her for just it being played on repeat.

Alec: [00:06:37] There are at least three petitions on change.org to ban all I want for Christmas. One is asking U.S. regulators to ban it from radio. But I don't think it's going anywhere. Sascha. 

Sascha: [00:06:47] Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath. No one's going to get across the line. Look, there's plenty of other artists as well who've tried to replicate Mariah's success in the holiday season. So let's take a quick break and then when we get back, let's unpack those stories. 

Audio Clip: [00:07:17] It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 

Sascha: [00:07:23] Welcome back to the Dive. We're closing out the year. If you want to get us a Christmas present, then the best thing you can do is a five star review in your podcast player helps us get to many other people who might want to discover our back catalogue over the summer break. But today we're talking about Mariah Carey and her title as the Queen of Christmas. But Alec, plenty of other people have tried to come for Mariah's crown, they just haven't replicated her success. 

Alec: [00:07:50] That's right. Last year, Rolling Stone ranked the worst 20 Christmas songs of all time. And there are some notable inclusions who certainly haven't replicated Mariah's success. Coming in at number 20. Stevie Wonder's Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Me. Number 19. New Kids on the BLOCK Funky, Funky Xmas. No doubt. No More Number 17. Justin Bieber's mistletoe. Won after that 21 Pilots Christmas Saves the year. Not sure what the hell Christmas is saving me. And NSYNC coming in at number ten. I never knew the meaning of Christmas. That's got to be one from your childhood, Sascha. Meaning. 

Sascha: [00:08:51] Oh yeah. I'm a big in-sync fan back in the day. 

Alec: [00:08:55] Coming in at number five to artists I haven't heard of before. Elmo and Patsy. Their song Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. Includes the lyrics, hoof prints on her forehead and incriminating claws marks on her back. Not exactly the uplifting Christmas song you would be wanting at this time of year. 

Sascha: [00:09:18] No, not the spirit of Christmas at all. 

Alec: [00:09:21] But Sascha coming in at number one, Rolling Stone's worst Christmas song of all time. Jessica and Ashlee Simpson's little drummer boy, which Rolling Stone called, quote, musical waterboarding. 

Sascha: [00:09:42] Okay. So we've had some fun with Rolling Stones worst, but plenty of other artists have found Christmas success.

Alec: [00:09:50] That's right. Now, Mariah Carey is the modern day queen of Christmas, but she is actually not the most successful Christmas artist of all time. Do you know who has that honour?

Sascha: [00:10:02] I reckon it has to be Michael Bublé. 

Alec: [00:10:08] It is not Michael Bublé. Think further back in history. 

Sascha: [00:10:11] Okay. Bing Crosby. 

Alec: [00:10:15] Bing Crosby. You've absolutely nailed it. 

Sascha: [00:10:17] They're the two discs that we have on repeat in our house. 

Alec: [00:10:21] It's Jesus, then Bing Crosby for Christmas supremacy. So these numbers are from 2019, but they give you a bit of an idea of how far ahead Bing is. So Mariah Carey in 2019 has sold 20 million units of all I Want for Christmas. Bing Crosby takes number two and number one. Number two, spot silent night. 30 million units. But number one, Bing Crosby. White Christmas. 50 million units. To put it in perspective. So he's done three Christmas songs and one Christmas album. Just those songs and album alone make him one of the biggest selling artists of all time. And that's before we include any of Bing Crosby's other works, which, according to this article, which I do believe includes 406 singles and 105,000.

Sascha: [00:11:18] I wouldn't be surprised he was of that era where they just used to churn them out like they didn't. 

Alec: [00:11:25] A 105 albums, Sascha. That's like over a thousand songs. 

Sascha: [00:11:29] Yeah, they might have repackaged a few, I'm sure. My grandparents certainly had a few of them. 

Alec: [00:11:34] You know what? I've just Googled it. He has 71 studio albums, 83 compilation albums and 409 singles. 

Sascha: [00:11:40] Now you go Bing worked pretty hard. 

Alec: [00:11:46] And White Christmas isn't just the best selling Christmas single of all time. According to the Guinness World Records, it's actually just the best selling single of all. 

Sascha: [00:11:54] Wow. So there are so many Christmas songs like it feels like it's a bit of a rite of passage for major artists. And some have found success, maybe not being levels of success, but they have become classics of the holiday season. 

Alec: [00:12:10] Yeah, that's right. Queen wrote their Christmas song, Thank God It's Christmas. Wham! Wrote Last Christmas. Which off Mike, you've called Wham Wham a get get it when. 

Sascha: [00:12:21] They get in, it's basically if you win wham again and if you get to Christmas Day without hearing last Christmas.

Alec: [00:12:29] Is that a UK thing? 

Sascha: [00:12:30] No, I'm. I swear, it's just a thing. And the other day I was listening to a podcast and they played Last Christmas and I lost Whamageddon and they've done really well. But I thought I was going to get there this year.

Alec: [00:12:43] I reckon I win Whamageddon every you.

Sascha: [00:12:46] Know you'll, you'll start noticing it now, I promise. 

Alec: [00:12:49] Okay. Well, did you know that even Alvin and the Chipmunks have a Christmas song? It's called The Chipmunk Song Brackets Christmas. Don't Be Like. And this surprised me, although nothing should surprise me around this time of year. It has sold 5 million copies. 

Sascha: [00:13:10] I didn't know that.

Alec: [00:13:11] So I think the first part of this story is established artists doing Christmas songs is a rite of passage. A lot of them will do covers, but then some like Mariah, like Queen, like Alvin and the Chipmunks, they will write their own Christmas song. But then the second part of this story is that there is a whole industry of just pure play Christmas artists. Now, do you remember the Queen of Christmas trademark dispute where Mariah didn't get her trademark?

Sascha: [00:13:40] Yeah. Sorry, Mariah. 

Alec: [00:13:42] The reason she didn't get her trademark is that musician Elizabeth Chan has released an album with the same title, Queen of Christmas. Elizabeth Chan might be challenging Mariah for the Queen of Christmas title because she has released 12 Christmas albums. 

Sascha: [00:13:58] Wow. That's a lot. That's a lot of Christmas specials. 

Alec: [00:14:01] That's too many Christmas albums. But in general, and the reason that you can release 12 Christmas albums is that holiday music is booming. Billboard estimates that the holiday recorded music business is worth $177 million a year in the United States alone. 

Sascha: [00:14:22] But it's not all sleigh bells and candy canes and easy hits at Christmas time. For a lot of new artists, it's really tough to cut through. It's most of the classics and the older Christmas songs that dominate. 

Alec: [00:14:34] Yeah, it is tough to cut through. Mariah All I Want for Christmas was released in 1994, and she's been number one. Christmas time, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. I guess Christmas is a nostalgic time of year. 

Sascha: [00:14:50] You don't need. 

Alec: [00:14:51] I guess.

Sascha: [00:14:52] You don't need to research to make that kind of claim, I think. 

Alec: [00:14:55] And so what we say is that a number of more modern artists are trying to crack the Christmas market with limited success. Tell me if you've heard any of these songs, Sascha, because I certainly hadn't. Taylor Swift's Christmas Song, Christmas Tree Farm. 

Sascha: [00:15:16] And I didn't know it. I can't sing it to you off the top of my head, though.

Alec: [00:15:21] That's right. We'll include some music in production. Britney Spears. My only win. And even Kanye has a Christmas song, Christmas in Harlem. 

Sascha: [00:15:42] I didn't know that came up short on that one as well. 

Alec: [00:15:45] So I guess this is our last full episode for the year. We've got a wrap up episode of 2022 coming out on Wednesday. But my final takeaway for the year is that Christmas music is a great business, but it's a tough business. And even some of the best artists in the world who have crap to the music business can't quite crack the Christmas music business. 

Sascha: [00:16:08] I think that's a pretty good takeaway. Mine is that there's some really great songs out there and I'm going to go put on my favourite Christmas playlist and get in the spirit while I edit this show. 

Alec: [00:16:21] Nuts, nuts. 

Sascha: [00:16:22] So we'll leave it there for today. Why don't you tell us your favourite Christmas song if it's not Mariah and if there's another special one, maybe you're one of the people who loves that NSYNC song. Then make sure you reach out and tell us about it. You can reach us on Instagram at thedivebusinessnews . You can contact us by email at thedive@equitymates.com And you can follow it wherever you're listening right now. So you never miss an episode. Please tell a friend about the dive. We're going to be back on Wednesday for our final episode of the year and then we're taking a break and we will be back on the 29th of Jan. Alec, thanks for joining me today. 

Alec: [00:16:56] Thanks, Sascha. 

Sascha: [00:16:57] Until next time.