Livin’ on a Prayer’ Co-Writer Reveals How Much Money the Song Made Him From Half Billion Streams
"Songwriters have really gotten the short end of the stick when all this was set up on the beginning," Desmond Child says.
1d ago by jomatami [w] 136,331 · 51,822 views · ↓ 36 comments
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During an appearance on Talk Is Jericho, renowned songwriter Desmond Child (KISS, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, many more) discussed the current state of the music industry, and how lucrative his craft is in the age of streaming services.
Asked if he still receives royalties like he used to back in the day, Desmond used Bon Jovi’s 1986 hit "Livin’ on a Prayer," which he co-wrote with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, as an example. He replied (transcribed by UG):
"Well, with the streaming… I mean, the rates are slowly going to lift, but I’ll give you an example: last year, ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ got half a billion streams between Pandora and Spotify. That’s as much as a current hit song, 30 years later.
"And my pay was $6,000. That was it. And so, you know, songwriters have really gotten the short end of the stick when all this was set up on the beginning, and so that’s why we’ve been fighting and fighting.
"And last year, we had a victory with the Music Modernisation Act that was signed 100% bipartisan. Nobody said ‘nay,’ both houses of the Congress and President Trump signed it, but it’s gonna take six, seven years for us to see any difference.
"So it was a great start, but also it got everybody aware that songwriting is a career. Aside from the art, working songwriters in Nashville… I mean, they used to maybe be able to get a song and feed their family, and now that’s not the case unless your song is a single."
What about classic-rock radio? There’s a Desmond Child song probably being played once per hour, probably hundreds of times around the world?
"That’s sort of what I was gonna say. Terrestrial radio is really, that’s the only place where we get a fair share, and so it’s a nickel-and-dime business but, you know, if you get played enough times, there’s enough to feed your family.
"I’m just hoping that territories like China start paying us royalties instead of just manufacturing copies of our songs and ignoring our copyright laws. It’s time that all the countries in the world respect each other’s intellectual property.
"Every country in Latin America has their PRO and when I’m working on Latin America songwriting, they all work with us, and they submit the names of their top writers for induction or to be honored, they actually pay.
"But in certain territories, we’re getting nothing. You can be assured that my songs are known or heard by almost everyone on Earth. They don’t even know who wrote it or who sang it, all they know is that they know the song."
Desmond also discussed the impact "Livin’ on a Prayer" made on many people’s lives, saying:
"Going to a Bon Jovi concert, they do a lot of songs that we co-wrote together, but of course, Jon will never sing ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ ’til the very last song of the very last encore.
"So now it’s 11:30 and parents have their kids asleep on their shoulders, you know, with the little earplugs on, and no one will leave. No one will leave without hearing that song. He keeps that audience at the palm of his hand all the way through the encore.
"They’re waiting for it, but then when they do play it, you can’t hear the band do it. All you hear is people screaming at the top of their lungs like their lives depended on it, that anthem, they’re just screaming it, you can’t hear the band.
"It’s the most amazing experience, it’s, like, goosebumpy. You see people there, older people in their 70s, 80s, white hair, and then there’s little toddlers there, you’re looking at three or four generations all loving that same song, and I feel very fulfilled with all of that.
"It’s been the song that kept us going. We call it ‘Living Room on a Prayer.’"
Besides ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ what are your three biggest songs?
"’Livin’ on a prayer,’ [Ricky Martin's] ‘Livin’ la Vida Loca,’ [Joan Jett's] ‘I Hate Myself for Loving You,’ [Aerosmith's] ‘Dude (Looks Like a Lady)’… now that’s more than three."
‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’?
"Oh, that one’s, like, in the Top 1 or 2. I mean, ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ gets so much mileage. Remember the movie ‘Why Him?’ It was all over that, and there’s Gene [Simmons] playing it, just probably thinking about the paycheck. [Laughs]"
Read more: ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’ Co-Writer Reacts to Gene Simmons Disliking the Song, Talks How It Came to Be
Desmond has a new album out called "Desmond Child Live." You can check it out in the embedded player below.
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