Pondering over the sustainability of income from a single hit in the music industry: Can Performers Continuously Rely on Royalties from Their Hits?
In the summer of 1979, a song named "My Sharona" by The Knack stormed the music charts, spending an impressive six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This catchy tune, penned in just 15 minutes by guitarist Berton Averre and lead vocalist Doug Fieger, would go on to become one of the most iconic songs of the era.
The Knack's debut album, which contained "My Sharona", sold an astonishing 500,000 copies in just 13 days. However, the financial rewards for the band members were not as immediate or substantial as one might expect.
Streaming royalties, the primary source of income for modern musicians, are still around half a cent per stream. For most signed artists, this translates to a fraction of a penny, making it difficult for even a viral hit to recoup the equivalent of minimum wage from streaming alone.
Gary Portnoy, the songwriter of "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme song for the hit TV show "Cheers", fares better. He receives royalties every time his song is played. Even unsigned, independent bands aspiring for similar success would find it challenging to match the financial gains of a single hit song.
Performance royalties, paid every time a song is performed in public, including radio and streaming, offer a potential source of income. However, most signed musicians have to share these royalties with a publisher, reducing their individual earnings.
Sync License Royalties, paid when a song is licensed to a movie, TV show, commercial, or even a TikTok creator, can provide a significant boost to a musician's income. However, these royalties are often handled by a publisher, who takes a substantial cut.
Streaming now accounts for 84% of all money made from music in the United States, while physical CDs and records account for only 10%, and digital downloads are down to 5%. Despite the shift towards streaming, print royalties, paid when print copies of the music are sold, remain a relatively minor revenue earner for pop music.
Berton Averre, the co-writer of "My Sharona", has spoken about the song's enduring impact on his life. In 2015, he said, "My Sharona has been so good to me." Gerry Rafferty, another musician who found success with a single hit song, "Baker Street", earned $100,000 a year off his 1978 song.
Don McLean, famous for his song "American Pie", earns $300,000 in combined royalties every year. In their book and on the Making Money with Music website, Chertkow and Feehan detail more than 300 additional revenue sources for independent musicians.
"My Sharona" remains a staple of classic rock radio and has been featured in movies and TV commercials. The song's success has helped "Cheers", which filmed 275 episodes, to remain in syndication in 40 countries plus streaming and digital downloads.
While the financial rewards for musicians may not always match the popularity of their songs, the enduring legacy of "My Sharona" serves as a testament to the power of a well-crafted tune.
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