Interposing one of music history’s most beloved tunes into your work can come with a hefty price tag; ask Ariana Grande.
The Grammy-winner – who just saw her latest hit, ‘7 Rings,’ return to the top of the Hot 100 for its 6th non-consecutive week (click here to read more) – knows all too well about the cost of such ventures as ‘Rings’ contains reinterpretations of Rodgers & Hammerstein (the songwriters who penned ‘My Favorite Things’ from the iconic ‘Sound of Music’ soundtrack).
And, while modern acts like rappers Soulja Boy and Princess Nokia allege they’re due a piece of the ‘Rings’ royalties pie (click here to read more on that), Rodgers & Hammerstein – two of 10 credited writers on the Grande hit – take so much of it there’s barely a slice left for others.
See what we mean inside:
The song is credited to a total of 10 writers. But two of them — Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II — control 90 percent of the songwriting royalties, a remarkable split that reflects the value of evergreen song catalogs, and of the negotiating leverage their owners have when pop stars come seeking permission.
*****
Admittedly, while having to split 10% of her own song’s earnings between herself and 7 writers seems like quite the loss, it should be noted ‘Rings’ and its parent album, ‘thank u, next,’ have collectively been streamed over a billion times around the world.
Wow that’s all I’ll say…
8 people “wrote” a song that two people already created 90% of.. lmfaoooooo.!!!! 8 divided by 10% is 0.8%…… 0.8% for each of those 8 “writers” who helped Ariana….. not even 1% contribution ??????????????
Exactly. What did she write? The word “you”? Lmao. Such a dumb b****.
To properly calculate the percentage the other 8 writers are entitled to the formula would look like this:
(1-.9)/8 = 0.0125 which is equivalent to 1.25% for each of the 8 remaining writers.
https://giphy.com/gifs/left-eye-cd8mlP85Y826A
?
Lmao, even what they did “write” was unoriginal. If you were to give Soulja boy, princess Nokia, and 2 chainz credit, these 8 writers wrote none of it. ???? But we already knew that.
This song is so wack lol…I can’t
https://tenor.com/view/baby-toddler-laughing-laugh-toppling-gif-4290934
?
This song is so generic and just dumb! When 10 writers have to share the writing credits to a song you know the creativity level in the industry is at an all time LOW. It makes sense though. This new generation is OVER music and refuses to buy music so labels will not invest in paying hitmakers of the past decades to write new hits. Hence, the absence of legendary songwriters like Babyface, Quincy Jones, Diane Warren, etc from the charts.
Jasmine, you betta tell it chile! ✅
https://tenor.com/view/praise-god-hallelujah-worship-gif-5831332
? ?
Honestly 7 rings sucks. It is just a trashy record. This generation music making skills is terrible. We need an industry shakeup with quality tracks
Who would ever agree to this? 90%?! Whew! Most only ask for 20% or 10% for a sample.
Sting has 100% of Diddy’s “I’ll be missing you” royalties. I saw it yesterday and was like WTF? lol
lol yep! Sting has made anywhere between $20 million and $40 million dollars since 1997…everybody get ready to do your math!
https://giphy.com/gifs/left-eye-cd8mlP85Y826A
?
This is why she will never be the woman who writes 99% of her own music and was the only one of that skintone who could duet with Whitney Houston.
Thank you….next.
https://tenor.com/view/mariah-carey-tea-gif-10702759
✅ ?
Why do you need 7 writers to write such a trash ass song? And to think she was so proud she “wrote” it. LMAO! B**** is so desperate to be recognized as a writer she kept saying she writes her songs in all her recent interviews. Sis, we all know Max Martin’s the one writing most of your songs and you’re just taking credits for it. LMAO!
oh my https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_RG1O5BhBU
So much shade thrown around and hate on the #1 song out right now…
love it or hate it, it’s a hit!
Besides, like she said – I WANT IT, I GOT IT.
she was willing to pay to get the legal side of the things done for this song to be out.
her problem, not yours.
Just enjoy the music and stop hating for nothing, damn!
So basically she makes no money from a song that’s been a number 1 hit for 6 weeks!! What the hell. I guess touring is where it’s at for her.
Mariah would never, bc her songs are actually hers
?
SOMETIMES IT BE LIKE THAT…
IN THIS CASE ITS NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH THE SONG IS MAKING. THIS IS HER “BUTTERFLY” CROSSOVER ERA LOL. SHE NEEDED MOMENTUM.