Can one hit song make you rich? (2023)

How much money do 1 hit wonders make?

According to Pierre Bradshaw, who worked 6 years at MCA/Universal Music, a band with a hit song can bring in anywhere from $10 thousand to $50 thousand per performance. And the actual members of the band get to keep around 85% to 90% of that. (Their manager usually gets a 10% to 15% cut.)

In the case of most one hit wonder artists, while their names may not go down in history, they usually end up well off financially.

Singers should receive the same or a comparable per-song rate as the other musicians performing on the track. This can be anywhere from $50 to $300 per song. Generally, $150 per player per song is an acceptable rate. Not all artists will pay their employed musicians the same.

With mechanical royalties, the fee paid per song is currently 9.1 cents. This is often split between Co-Writers and Publishers. Performance royalties have no standard rate. The rate is negotiated between the Songwriter and their Performing Rights Organization.

Right now, the rate is 9.1 cents per song. This is the total mechanical royalty set by the Copyright Royalty Board, and is split among co-writers and publishers. Physical album sales aren't as big as they used to be, but can still be an important revenue stream.

As we've mentioned earlier, in most markets, both songwriters and recording artists are typically paid royalties any time their music is played on the radio.

It seems too good to be true, but in reality is absolutely 100% possible. As we are about to demonstrate, writing one hit song can make you extremely rich for life. A few years back we interviewed Gary Portnoy, the guy who wrote and sang the theme song for the television show Cheers.

Roughly three out of 100 people in the U.S. are millionaires, but your chances of becoming a millionaire depend very much on your age, your race, and your education.

Statistics show that there is about a one in thirty chance that any given person will become a millionaire. This means that if you want to join the millionaires' club, your odds are not great, but they are definitely not impossible.

Writing a hit song is not an easy task. It will take time, effort, commitment, and lots of luck to make it happen. However, most musicians fail even to get started because they are waiting for inspiration and not intentional with their songwriting.

Can you make a living off music?

A common misperception about life as a musician, or even working in the music industry, is that no one ever makes any money. Or not enough to live on, anyway. Not so. Well, there definitely are a LOT of people out there who aren't making enough money from music, but that's not for lack of opportunity.

Pitch your song to a music publisher. Artists will get songs from a wide range of sources, including their record label, manager, producer, studio musicians, friends, loyal fans, and family. But to pitch your song to established artists, your best bet is to go through a music publisher.

Although the number is constantly fluctuating, in 2022, Apple Music pays 0.00783 per stream on its platform. With this in mind, a song will earn $1 after streaming roughly 128 times.

Write different subject matters other than just love songs!!

Publishers tell us that one of the best ways for songwriters who are NOT signed to a publisher to get noticed their songs is to be writing something DIFFERENT from what their staff writers are writing and turning into them every day.

Songwriters are paid via 3 royalty streams:

Today, the current rate is 9.1 cents (typically split with co-writers and publishers). Performance Royalty – A songwriter receives a performance royalty when their song is performed on terrestrial broadcast radio, in a live performance venue, or via online streaming services.

We already know that Spotify's average per-stream rate is $0.004. But how about its close competitors, Apple Music and Amazon Music? Apple Music pays 52% to all labels and the same rate for publishers in each country. Like most streaming platforms, Apple Music determines royalties on a streamshare model.

Copyright owners (often record labels) receive 50 percent of these royalties, while featured artists receive 45 percent, and non-featured musicians and non-featured vocalists receive 2.5 percent each.

As per the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the current term of copyright is 70 years for sound recordings released in 1963 or later. Recordings released prior to 1963 are now in the public domain and do not attract royalties.

As for how much Spotify pays per stream, they pay roughly $0.04 per 10 streams. So, 1000 streams would be around $4, and 100,000 streams would be $400. Remember, this result may be lower based on certain factors such as if only half of your song was listened to.

They should receive a fair amount of compensation for their hard work and the value they add to society. However, most musical artists are getting underpaid due to three main reasons: copyright infringement, streaming services and labels taking advantage of their work.

What is the highest grossing one hit wonder?

According to Guinness World Records, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.

One-hit wonders usually see their popularity decreasing after their hit listing and most often do not ever return to hit listings with other songs or albums.

Most studios also offer project-based recording rates. One song could cost from $50 to $500 – but at a project-based rate, an entire album could start at around $2000. After an album is recorded, it is sent to a mastering engineer. Average mastering engineering rates are $100+ per song or $500+ per album.