How much money does a popular songwriter make?

Cafe Society
1

I just came back from seeing songwriter Jimmy Webb in concert. Not much of a singer, but wow - does he ever have a catalog of great songs! From the Wikipedia article: “Up, Up and Away”, “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”, “Wichita Lineman”, “Galveston”, “The Worst That Could Happen”, “All I Know”, and “MacArthur Park”.

Anyway, he was performing at a fairly small club. But given that his songs are all over multiple Platinum selling albums, did he need to? Just MacArthur Park has been recorded by a huge number of performers.

So, how well does someone who has written a huge number of “standards” do?

2

Here is a starting point.

I recall in the 70s when I was doing audio engineering a US engineer told me that the songwriter on average received $100,000 in royalties for any single that made it into the top 10 at all. The article quotes $800,000 for a hit single.

BMI alone collected $901M for their artists in royalties in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. From here.

3

Here is a starting point.

I recall in the 70s when I was doing audio engineering a US engineer told me that the songwriter on average received $100,000 in royalties for any single that made it into the top 10 at all. The article quotes $800,000 for a hit single.

BMI alone collected $901M for their artists in royalties in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. From here.

4

Thanks don’t ask. Yeah, unless he did a truly astonishing job of blowing all his money, I probably shook the hand of a multimillionaire last night. I’d imagine he receives a good-sized check from ASCAP and/or BMI on a regular basis.

5

Yeah, songwriting and not performing is where the money’s at in the music business.

6

What about songwriters who don’t have top ten hits? How much money is there in lesser songs?

7

Slight hijack, but Jimmy Webb’s book ‘Tunesmith’ is amazing and inspiring.

MiM

8

He didn’t have copies with him. But the opening act were Bob Walkenhorst and Jeff Porter of The Rainmakers. They were knocked out to be able to hang out with Webb, and Porter said the book changed his life and writing.

9

Musical theatre has “grand rights”–the money that has to be paid to the composer and lyricist every time their music is used. If it rungs in five or ten different cities, they get paid for each and every performance.

A show like Mamma Mia!, Wicked, or Phantom of the Opera is practically a license to print money.

10

The Forbes list of top earning dead celebrities last October has Richard Rogers of Broadway/musical films earning some $7 million a year.

Of course that might be different for just a songwriter like Webb.

My memory that when Whitney Houston’s soundtrack for “The Bodyguard” was a massive hit almost 20 years ago, Nick Lowe earned some $15 million because a cover version of What’s so Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding was on it.