Ultimate Christmas song rich list including artist who makes £1m a YEAR from number one hit (and it’s not Mariah Carey)
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WHEN it comes to Christmas, few things fail to capture the holiday spirit - twinkling lights, festive movies, and, of course, the nation's favourite songs. But while these tunes fill our homes with cheer, they also fill the bank accounts of their creators with staggering sums year after year.
![[Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You is not the top earner in the world of Christmas music]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/singer-mariah-carey-attends-81st-954495555.jpg?strip=all&w=654)
Some of these seasonal hits have become financial goldmines, generating millions in royalties. And not just for Mariah Carey. In fact, while All I Want for Christmas Is You remains an everlasting favourite, she’s not the top earner in the world of Christmas music.
![[Fairytale of New York was written after a bet]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shane-mcgowan-kirsty-maccoll-top-454614180-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Another artist has quietly claimed the title, raking in an estimated £1million annually from a single holiday hit that continues to dominate charts and playlists every December. Below, The Sun’s rich list reveals Christmas’s biggest earners in the music industry, with some surprising entries.
![[Mariah Carey's hit earns her £400,000 a year]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1-12-2011-justin-bieber-219653002-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Annual royalties: £1million. Total since release: £50million. Noddy Holder and Slade musician Jim Lea penned the song, which reached number one in 1973. It’s stood the test of time since then, re-entering the charts each year, and making a pretty penny for the pair who wrote and composed it.
![[Driving Home for Christmas didn't make number one until two years later]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/www-youtube-com-watch-v-548854563-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Today Noddy, 77, has started performing again, six years after he was told he had only six months to live after a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer. Noddy, worth around £25million, signed up to a chemotherapy trial which saved his life. Annual royalties: £400,000. Total since release: £14.4million.
![[Jona Lewie's 1978 hit was an anti-war song]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/jona-lewie-stop-cavalry-204321180-1.jpg?strip=all&w=957)
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