# Take home pay for a top selling single ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430 "2015-11-02T16:51:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/1 "2015-11-02T16:51:45Z")
What sort of money will an artist net from a top ten single - purely from it’s time in the charts, not royalties years later etc ? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/2 "2015-11-02T17:22:49Z")
About tree-fiddy. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/3 "2015-11-02T17:41:56Z")
**Moderator Action** This concerns the music industry, which makes it better suited to Cafe Society. Moving thread from General Questions to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/4 "2015-11-02T17:45:30Z")
The only factual answer is “it depends”. It depends on what their contract is with the record company. Are they an established artist with lots of hits or is this their debut record? Did they write the song or just perform it? Lots of variables to consider. If you’re thinking about putting out a song on iTunes you can expect that Apple with take about 10%. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/5 "2015-11-02T17:48:23Z")
It all depends on the musician’s contract. Most musicians do not make much money at all from their first hit. The profits mostly go to the record company. Many musicians have basically described their contracts as slave labor. They get diddley while the record company rakes in the big bucks. To be fair, the record company also fronts the money for the production of numerous albums that never sell enough to make up their initial costs, too. Many musicians have said that where they make their money is out on the road. They get a share of the profits from filling stadiums and theaters. A musician (or group) may be under contract for something like three albums. If they get a hit somewhere in there, they can renegotiate after their contract expires to try to get more money. At that point, the artist can threaten to go to another label if they don’t get the terms that they like. An unknown artist can’t make that kind of threat and isn’t in a very good position to negotiate contract details. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/6 "2015-11-02T18:08:52Z")
OK it depends on the musician’s contract and other variables. But there must be a credible range - like is it possible to make millions from one number one ? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/7 "2015-11-02T18:32:34Z")
[Now my agent just called me on the telephone And said, "Son, your record’s just got to number one. And do you know what this means? This means you can earn some _real_ money!]([http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/The\_Kinks:Top\_Of\_The\_Pops](http://lyrics.wikia.com/wiki/The_Kinks:Top_Of_The_Pops)) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/8 "2015-11-02T18:37:39Z")
Who buys records these days. An artist can have a top selling song but if most people are just downloading it at $1.00 and the rest are stealing it for free, they will get very little. As ECG said above, the real money will be from the world tour, provided that they can fill the stadia. Oh - not to mention the merchandise and signed pictures. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/9 "2015-11-02T19:29:11Z")
It’s possible you could make millions, or you could still owe the record company thousands. It really does all depend on how many you sell, and how badly your contract was written. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/10 "2015-11-02T19:32:52Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Who buys records these days. An artist can have a top selling song but if most people are just downloading it at $1.00 and the rest are stealing it for free, they will get very little. I assume only the purchases are counted toward making it onto the charts. I’m so old my first thought was “Who makes singles anymore”, but then I realized all you kids are loading them on your devices all the time. Anyway, at a dollar a pop there can’t be much left over for the artist, even if they receive a royalty is it even a penny? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/11 "2015-11-02T19:53:52Z")
Interesting discussion. I’ve often wondered whether a one-hit wonder pulls down enough money not to have to work again, or if they still have to hold down a day job at Dexy’s Midnight Running Shoes or (Terence Trent d’) Arby’s. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/12 "2015-11-02T19:58:19Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I assume only the purchases are counted toward making it onto the charts. The major Billboard singles charts (e.g. the Hot 100/Top 40) have been a combination of sales and airplay since the late 1950s. There are and have been sales-only singles charts that have had relevance within the music industry. Interestingly, there is still a Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. Of note from the “Billboard Hot 100” Wikipedia page: > [@](#): > > **Hot Singles Sales:** (per Billboard) “the top selling singles compiled from a national sample of retail store, mass merchant and internet sales reports collected, compiled, and provided by Nielsen SoundScan.” The chart is released weekly and measures sales of physical commercial singles. With the decline in sales of physical singles in the US, many songs that become number one on this chart often do not even chart on the Hot 100. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/13 "2015-11-02T20:02:32Z")
Thought [this was an interesting factoid](https://weeklytop40.wordpress.com/billboards-hot-100-achievements/), too, regarding Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart: > [@](#): > > The first “airplay-only” song to reach number one (no points from a commercial single release) was “Try Again” by Aaliyah (June 17, 2000). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/14 "2015-11-02T20:12:58Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > The major Billboard singles charts (e.g. the Hot 100/Top 40) have been a combination of sales and airplay since the late 1950s. There are and have been sales-only singles charts that have had relevance within the music industry. Ok, I was thinking of Gold Records. Do they still do that? ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/15 "2015-11-02T23:18:55Z")
Apparently it can cost $1 million nowadays to have a hit single > **[How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song?](https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/05/137530847/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-hit-song)** > > We go step-by-step through the making of Rihanna's song "Man Down." Bringing in top songwriters and producers costs tens of thousands of dollars. Trying to turn the song into a hit costs much more. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/16 "2015-11-02T23:38:33Z")
The really big money now is licensing a song for commercials and films. A few years ago Howard Stern had Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan from The Turtles on his show. Stern made a joke about how they needed work. They replied they own all the master tapes for the Turtles and last year they made $500,000 just for allowing McDonalds in Germany to use “Happy Together”. ``` I wish I could remember the source but I seem to remember for a million seller, each member of a 5 person new group might get $12,000. At the beginner stage, the money (if any) is in touring. And being smart enough to hold onto your publishing. But I remember Billy Zoom leaving X in the mid 1980s because he never earned more than $13,000 a year ``` ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/17 "2015-11-03T07:37:28Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Apparently it can cost $1 million nowadays to have a hit single > > [How Much Does It Cost To Make A Hit Song? : Planet Money : NPR](http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2011/07/05/137530847/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-hit-song) Or more accurately, it takes that much to push a piece of music factory manufactured generic dreck hard enough to get people to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/18 "2015-11-03T08:01:04Z")
There are various sources of revenue, but the only person who consistently makes any money from a record is the songwriter - a fixed amount per physical or downloaded copy. Don’t expect to make any money at all from the royalties on the actual recording, as all costs for promoting the record come out of the artists share. Janis Ian, who has been releasing records since she was 13, won 2 Grammys, had a #3 record, [and yet](http://www.janisian.com/reading/internet.php): > [@](#): > > …in 37 years as a recording artist, I’ve created 20+ albums for major labels, and I’ve never once received a royalty check that didn’t show I owed them money. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/19 "2015-11-03T09:49:50Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430/20 "2015-11-03T14:29:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Ok, I was thinking of Gold Records. Do they still do that? Yes – but [the certifications for Gold and Platinum are now based on more than sales of physical media](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_recording_sales_certification#Digital_media_certification): > [@](#): > > **Digital media certification** > > In most countries certifications no longer apply solely to physical media but now also include sales awards recognizing digital downloads (in the U.S. and U.K. since 2004). In June 2006, the RIAA also certified the ringtone downloads of songs. Streaming from on-demand services such as Rhapsody and Spotify has been included into existing digital certification in the U.S since 2013 and the U.K. and Germany since 2014. In the U.S. and Germany video streaming services like YouTube, VEVO, and Yahoo! Music also began to be counted towards the certification, in both cases using the formula of 100 streams being equivalent to one download. Other countries, such as Denmark and Spain, maintain separate awards for digital download singles and streaming. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-home-pay-for-a-top-selling-single/736430.md?page=2)