How much Paul McCartney makes each year for Wonderful Christmastime

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How much Paul McCartney makes each year for Wonderful Christmastime

The song was recorded in 1979 but it still makes the former Beatle a lot of money

By Dan Haygarth 

Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter

27 Dec 2024

Sir Paul McCartney performing on stage at Co-op Live in Manchester earlier this month 

(Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

Though Christmas Day has been and gone, festive songs are still being played in shops and on the radio. It is usually the same selection of songs on the playlists, meaning that the people behind them are in line for a hefty cheque of royalties each year.

There is no exact figure for how much these songs earn as the Performing Right Society (PRS) does not reveal them in order to protect privacy. However, research conducted by Channel 5 in 2016 found out what the royalties of Christmas hits are each year.

Top of the chart was Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody', said to earn £1m per year, followed by 'Fairytale of New York' by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl with £400,000.

Shortly behind them was Paul McCartney. The Beatles legend, 82, recorded Wonderful Christmastime' in 1979 at his Lower Gate Farm property in Sussex while he worked on his second solo album 'McCartney II'.

It was released in November of that year, shortly after Wings' final album 'Back to the Egg' hit shelves. On its original run, 'Wonderful Christmastime' peaked at six in the UK charts and was also a top ten hit in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latvia and the Netherlands. It was Paul's first solo single since 'Eat at Home' in 1971 and has since become a staple in Christmas playlists.

It is quite a divisive song, with many taking against its synth-pop stylings. Music writer Robert Rodriguez said of the song: "Love it or hate it, few songs within the McCartney oeuvre have provoked such strong reactions."

That said, Paul played it during the UK gigs of his 'Got Back' tour earlier this month, and fans at the Manchester and London shows were largely delighted to hear it.

According to Channel 5's research, the track lands Paul £260,000 per year. And as that research is now eight years old, it is likely to be even higher now.