The Richest Songs

The money in music is in song royalties - cover versions, radio airplays, film rights, adverts, youtube hits (60p per 1,000 plays), Karoke and so on. The Beatles were the first artists to blaze this path by writing their own songs. 
 

Young artists be warned though over the small print if signing a contract to a music publisher. Van Morrison has lost out on all the royalty revenues for his song Brown Eyed Girl (10m radio airplays) - because of the deal he signed in New York at 21 in which he was given a royalty rate that was virtually nil. 
  

The most successful bands spilt any royalties equally between them - U2, Coldplay etc.

Interestingly the woman create the hits, wheras men create the cult hits - as seen in this top ten list as most of the songs are about love, loss, longing, regret, heartbreak...  

Happy Birthday is the number one richest songs, written by school teachers the Hill sisters. Christmas songs are always big money earners and oddly many are written by Jewish songwriters.     

Top Ten Richest Songs

Happy Birthday, 30m

White Christmas, 24m 

You've Lost That Loving Feeling, 20.5m

Yesterday, 19.5m 

Unchained Melody, 18m

Stand By Me, 17m

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, 16m

Every Breath You Take,13.5m

Pretty Woman, 13m
The Christmas Song 12.5m  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/The_Richest_Songs_in_the_World/