Summary
- Mariah Carey is one of the biggest artists in music history, with the most number one hits and a role as a co-writer on many of those songs.
- Early in her career, Carey signed a contract that she later realized was the "worst deal in history," giving away a significant portion of her publishing and royalties.
- Carey's decision not to sell her publishing was influenced by seeing how The Beatles had sold their own publishing, which later became a regrettable decision for them.
Mariah Carey is among the biggest artists in music history. She has the most number one hits of any solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has also co-written 18 out of those 19 number one hits. One of those songs includes her modern-day Christmas classic, "All I Want For Christmas Is You," which gets played every year.
Carey was even inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022. However, before earning her enormous success, Carey was offered to sell her publishing for a mere $5,000.
Despite being a struggling artist, Carey rejected the offer, having learned from a mistake made by none other than The Beatles.
Mariah Said She Signed 'The Worst Deal In History' Before She Landed Her First Record Contract
In 2021, Carey appeared on the Questlove Supreme podcast and shared many details about her legendary career. During the chat, Carey talked about the very first contract she signed when she was still a teenager in high school. At the time, Carey was writing songs with her writing partner Ben Margulies.
Carey said that Margulies was around 25 or 26 years old at the time.
"I met this guy named Ben Margulies," Carey began. "We worked in his dad's studio. It was a small studio in the back of a wood shop. I guess they must have had some money, 'cause I surely didn't. I was a kid in high school, so I was happy to be there working and writing."
However, when reflecting on her experience with Margulies, Carey said she "signed the worst deal in history."
Carey said Margulies asked her to sign a contract when they first started working together. She said this contract was photocopied from a text book about the business side of the music industry.
In her memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," she detailed the specifics of the contract, which she was informed about years later.
"I didn't realize the enormity of what I had signed away," Carey wrote. "I was informed, from what I remember, that he got 50% of the publishing on all songs we worked on together from my first album. Okay, fine. But additionally, he received 50% of my artist's royalties for the first album, 40% for the second, 30% for the third, and so on. It went on that way from about 1990 until 1999. Even though Ben did not write a note with me after the first album."
Carey never worked with Margulies again after her first album. Despite how things unfolded, Carey said she did her best to keep moving forward.
"Out of loyalty to him and the hard work we put in together in that little studio, I never looked back and tried to reset or recoup," she wrote.
The songs Carey and Margulies worked on together would comprise the demo tape Carey presented to record labels. According to Carey, when she signed her first deal with Columbia Records, the label wanted to use some of those songs on her first album.
When she eventually did sign her first major record deal, Carey had a clause put in her contract.
"Nobody can force me to do somebody else's songs," Carey said, explaining that she wanted to be able to write her own music.
Mariah Refused To Sell Her Publishing Thanks To Seeing A Documentary On The Beatles
During a 2018 interview with Pitchfork, Carey recalled some of her career highlights. Part of the discussion dealt with her pre-fame days and Carey shed some insight into her business sense early on.
Carey has co-written every one of her songs except for the cover songs she's recorded. In addition, Carey has retained the publishing rights to every single one of those songs. When asked how this came to be, Carey explained it was through learning from the mistakes other artists have made.
"I had seen documentaries about The Beatles selling their publishing, or having it stolen," Carey said. "I had always written songs and, when I was around 18, I was offered $5,000 for all my music and I was like, 'No.' All these songs that ended up becoming No. 1 songs later, after I got my deal."
The Personal Stories Behind These Mariah Carey Albums
Mariah Carey's albums have reflected significant chapters in her life.
At the time, Carey was also singing background for Brenda K. Starr. The singer became a mentor for Carey and even offered to record some of Carey's songs on her own album. However, Carey rejected Starr's offer.
"I was like, 'You know what? I love you and thank you for hiring me but I'm going to keep my songs,'" Carey said. "I just believed in them."
Mariah Was Eventually Induced Into The Songwriters Hall Of Fame In 2022
In 2022, Carey was among many songwriters who were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Carey was inducted by Questlove and she used the opportunity to remind people of her songwriting talents.
Carey joined artists like Jody Gerson, Rick Nowels, The Isley Brothers, and The Neptunes in being honored that night.
"It's incredible that there's even a show honoring songwriters," Carey said. "Give yourselves all a round of applause because this is a big deal."
"I just always assumed the person that you're listening to on the radio was the one who wrote the song," she continued. "But to know the people that are sort of the unsung heroes of the whole thing, it's an amazing situation, so please, one more round of applause for yourselves."
Carey also recognized another significant aspect of her induction.
"Out of the 439 total inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, only 32 have been women up until this moment. Now it's 33," Carey declared. "As my father once told me, 'You did good, kid.'"
