How much does Fairytale of New York earn in royalties

[Michaelo]

Just came across this article which estimates how much various Christmas songs make each year in royalties. Staggering amount for Fairytale. No wonder Shane isn't in a hurry to write new music.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/ ... christmas/

[Mike from Boston]

Just came across this article which estimates how much various Christmas songs make each year in royalties. Staggering amount for Fairytale. No wonder Shane isn't in a hurry to write new music.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/ ... christmas/

I have always been curious about how the whole royalty thing works. Shane and Jem wrote the song, so I assume they get the lion's share, plus if there are covers of FTONY, I assume they get paid too. If it is the Pogues version-how much does the band get. Does Kirsty's estate get anything?

My understanding is that the songwriters make out the best. However, (since my brother-in-law is friends with DEVO) if a Movie or a Commercial uses your version of a song (Satisfaction by DEVO in Casino), even though it was a Stones cover, they got paid handsomely.

If anyone has a link that breaks down how artists get paid, it would be interesting.

[mats]

Not sure if this is a page to trust but about 500.000 Euro a year.

http://entertainment.ie/music/news/Shan ... 374619.htm

[Low D]

I have always been curious about how the whole royalty thing works. Shane and Jem wrote the song, so I assume they get the lion's share, plus if there are covers of FTONY, I assume they get paid too. If it is the Pogues version-how much does the band get. Does Kirsty's estate get anything?

Somewhere on these fora, Philip mentioned that the non-writing credit members share a 25% credit of each song on which they have no credit, as recognition that they did in fact contribute to the final arrangement of the song.

I would assume Kirsty, as just a hired session musician / special guest (of course she became much much more to the band) would have just received a fee for the performance. It is very unusual for the writing credit to be shared in those circumstances. One notable recent example is Clare Torey on Pink Floyd's "Great Gig In The Sky:

In 2004, Torry sued Pink Floyd and EMI for songwriting royalties, on the basis that her contribution to "Great Gig in the Sky" constituted co-authorship with Richard Wright. Originally, she had been paid the standard Sunday flat studio rate of £30 (equivalent to £400 in 2016). In 2005, prior to a hearing in the High Court, an out-of-court settlement was reached. Although the terms of the settlement were not disclosed all pressings after 2005 list the composition to Richard Wright and Clare Torry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky#Lawsuit

[Frances]

Tree fiddy.

[GuillermoH]

Not sure if this is a page to trust but about 500.000 Euro a year.

http://entertainment.ie/music/news/Shan ... 374619.htm

That's not too shabby. I could live off of that, I reckon.