When thinking of Christmas songs, there are many that comes to mind. There’s Wham!’s Last Christmas, there’s the classic Jingle Bell Rock, and of course, who would forget, Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. With the last being the most memorable Christmas song, and whose presence becomes the sign of the Christmas season. This begs the question, “how much profit does Mariah Carey get from it?”
To answer that question, this article will explore three main factors leading to the success of All I Want For Christmas Is You as a Christmas anthem. First, it will dive into its lyrics, one the reasons why it has become the most memorable of all Christmas song lyrics. Then, it will look at the statistics of the song, and how a specific country helps boost the song more than any other country in the world.
What “All I Want For Christmas Is You” Is about
All I Want For Christmas Is You has a different take on Christmas songs. It is not about Santa Claus, or asking extravagant gifts from him. It is also not about wishing for snow or for merrymaking. Rather, the song takes a different direction, though it has Santa Claus still as the central figure. However, it emphasizes the need for another person instead of material goods. In the song, Carey sings about her desire to be with the person she loves, and that her desired togetherness will be the greatest gift she will treasure.
How a Single Country Kickstarts Her Christmas Sales
The Philippines is said to have the longest Christmas celebration, starting on September 1, and ending around New Year. The “-ber” ending in the names of the months means the Christmas season for the Filipinos. The country does not celebrate Thanksgiving, so there is no other grand celebration between September and Christmas.
With the beginning of the Philippine Christmas season comes Christmas songs being blasted in speakers in public places nationwide. There are three Christmas songs that Filipinos usually pick – Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas In Our Hearts, Ryan Cayabyab’s Kumukutikutitap (Flickering), and of course, Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. This means that Carey’s song is among the choices of Filipinos to play, and in a nation of 115 million early Christmas celebrants, it is no surprise that it will gain a lot of traction and greater revenue.
In 2023, a Mariah Carey fanpage reported that the song garnered 316,000 streams on Spotify in a single day, on September 1, a massive 75% increase in streams than the previous year. Carey reposted the statistics, saying that it was not yet that time of the year, but she would allow it for her “Filipino lambs.” Spotify Philippines replied to Carey’s tweet, “We’re seated and streaming, kween. Mahal ka namin.” (We’re seated and streaming, queen. We love you).
Outside of music-streaming platforms, All I Want For Christmas Is You has several “uses” in the Philippine setting. Malls often add it to their playlist of background music. The song is also a staple Christmas party music, along with Last Christmas by Wham!. Google Trends also shows the country leading the search for the song since 2018. The second leading country, Spain, lags the Philippines by 37 points. Going further back in time, the Philippines still leads the hype for the song even since the inception of Google Trends in 2006; the second placer, Armenia, lags by 48 points.
Mariah Carey’s Christmas Earnings in Numbers
On average, Spotify pays $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. All I Want For Christmas Is You has repeatedly broke streaming records, generating record incomes for Mariah Carey from Spotify alone. For example, Christmas Day in 2018 saw the song being streamed 10.82 million times, signifying an earning of around $38 thousand just for the day alone. Christmas Day in 2019 saw the song reaching a new high of 12.03 million streams, estimating a revenue of around $41 thousand in a single day. However, on December 24, 2022, the song gained 21.27 million streams, earning a whopping $74 thousand that day. For all the time All I Want For Christmas Is You has been on Spotify, it has gained at least 1.45 billion streams, which is tantamount to at least $5 million.
That’s just for All I Want For Christmas Is You on Spotify, and its single-day records. Mariah Carey still has some other Christmas songs and All I Want For Christmas Is You is not just on Spotify, meaning, the earnings do not end there. The Economist estimates that the song earns an average of $2.5 million per year, including outside of Spotify.
Mariah Carey’s Christmas album, excluding All I Want For Christmas Is You, has a total of 566.2 million streams, translating to a total of $1.97 million from Spotify royalties outside of her most iconic song. Moreover,, All I Want For Christmas Is You alone is reported to have accumulated around $80 million in royalties. Carey also reportedly earns around $600 thousand every December.
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