Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You continues to dominate the holiday season nearly three decades after its release, with new data estimating the song has generated more than $8 million in Spotify royalties alone, making it the highest-earning Christmas track on the platform.

The 1994 hit has now surpassed two billion streams on Spotify, according to a study by QR Code Generator that analysed streaming data from Kworb.net. Using an estimated payout rate of $0.004 per stream, the song is believed to have earned approximately $8.04 million, or £6.01 million, from Spotify plays. Industry payouts typically range between $0.003 and $0.0055 per stream, meaning actual earnings can vary depending on artist contracts.

Carey’s influence extends well beyond a single song. The study also identifies her as the highest-earning Christmas artist on Spotify overall, with an estimated $8.9 million in royalties generated from six versions of four holiday songs. The figures reinforce her long-standing reputation as the “Queen of Christmas,” a title that has become increasingly synonymous with the streaming era.

It is important to note that the full amount generated by streaming does not go directly to the artist. Spotify payments are shared between record labels, songwriters and publishers, depending on who owns the rights to the song. Using Mariah Carey as an example, the estimated $8 million earned by All I Want for Christmas Is You on Spotify represents the total revenue from streams, not her personal earnings. As both a co-writer and performer, Carey likely receives around $2 million to $4 million from Spotify, with the rest going to labels, collaborators and rights holders.

Second on the list is Wham!’s Last Christmas, which has accumulated nearly 1.66 billion streams since Spotify began tracking daily chart data in 2014. The 1984 single has earned an estimated $6.64 million, making it the highest-earning Christmas song by a British act. Other UK classics also continue to perform strongly, including John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over) and Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas, both of which remain staples on seasonal playlists.

Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree ranks third, earning an estimated $5.1 million from more than 1.27 billion streams across multiple versions. Originally released in 1958, the song’s continued popularity highlights the lasting commercial value of traditional Christmas recordings, many of which predate the digital music era by decades.

Modern Christams releases are also making their mark. Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me, released in 2014, ranks fourth overall and is the highest-earning Christmas song of the twenty-first century, with estimated Spotify royalties of $4.49 million. Sia’s Snowman, released in 2017, also appears in the top 10, showing how newer songs can gradually join the ranks of established festive favourites.

Michael Bublé emerges as the second-highest-earning Christmas artist overall, generating an estimated $8.68 million in Spotify royalties across 20 different holiday tracks. His version of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas alone has surpassed one billion streams, underlining the strength of artists with deep seasonal catalogues.

Elsewhere in the top 10 are familiar classics such as Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams, and Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano. Many of these songs were first released in the 1950s and 1960s, yet continue to attract hundreds of millions of streams annually.

Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator, said the findings illustrate how a single successful Christmas song can generate income for decades. He noted that while new festive music is released every year, listeners continue to gravitate toward traditional tracks, making it difficult for newer songs to break into holiday playlists.

The study analysed Spotify daily chart data from August 2014 to December 2025, separating Christmas songs from overall chart totals and combining multiple versions of each track. Earnings were calculated using an industry-average payout rate, with figures converted into pounds sterling for comparison.

As streaming continues to shape how audiences consume holiday music, the data confirms that Christmas classics remain among the most reliable earners in the industry, with Mariah Carey’s seasonal anthem once again leading the way.

Author: Adam Bailey

Adam is a regular contributor for established press release distribution website Release-News.com. He writes on a wide range of topics including music.