Morgan Wallen is walking out of 2023 with yet another record under his belt, this time for having the top-earning singles of the year.
“Last Night,” the iconic, chart-dominating single from Wallen’s surprise “One Thing At A Time” album, earned $4.8 million in 2023, according to the year-to-date song revenue. This was more than double his next most successful tracks, “You Proof,” which made $2.2 million, and “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” at $1.9 million.
When combined with his other singles, “Thought You Should Know” and “Wasted On You,” Wallen walked away with around $12 million from his music. A majority of the earnings came from streaming plays, with only $269,740 coming to Wallen from actual sales of the single.
Wallen beat the next top-selling songs, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus and “Kill Bill” by SZA, but more than $1.1 million. He appeared six times in the Top 50 highest revenue songs of 2023, doubling Taylor Swift’s appearance on the chart.
Morgan Wallen Wrote Almost 40% Of The Most Successful Songs Of 2023 https://t.co/7gPPtwSEEp via @dailycaller
— Woodrow Williams (@Woodrow17165268) December 29, 2023
But does that mean Wallen is the wealthiest songwriter of the year? Heck nah!
$12 million might sound like a lot, but most of that money is split between Wallen and his writing partners, like Ernest and Charlie Handsome. Then he has to consider the record company, any reps he still has on payroll and myriad other costs, not to mention tax. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up walking away with less than $1 million cash in hand when it was all said and done.
It’s no wonder Wallen has to sell tickets to his massive concerts at such an extortionate fee. He might have written the soundtrack to 2023, but that doesn’t mean jack if you don’t diversify your income portfolio to afford to be famous. (RELATED: Morgan Wallen’s Success Is Giant Slap In The Face To One Washed-Up Pop Star)
Let this be a lesson to all the cool kids out there who think making money off singing on social media is a career: It’s not. You literally have to be at Morgan Wallen’s level of fame to net a living wage, and you’ll give up everything you are in order to get there.