Mariah Carey has been awarded $92,000 after a judge dismissed a lawsuit against her over her perennial festive hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
In 2022 and then again in 2023, country musician Andy Stone, who performs as Vince Vance, filed a civil lawsuit against Carey alleging that Carey copied his 1989 song, also titled “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Stone was seeking $20 million in damages.
As Rolling Stone reported, Stone’s copyright infringement suit was dismissed in March. New court documents reveal that the judge has now ordered Stone to pay Carey $92,303.20 in sanctions.
The ruling argued that Stone’s lawsuit lacked merit and imposed the sanctions in order to deter people from filing baseless lawsuits.
Stone’s lawsuit claimed that his song, released with the band Vince Vance & The Valiants, received radio play in 1993 before becoming a hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart the following year, around the same time Carey’s chart-topping anthem was released.
The filing claimed that Carey copied the “compositional structure” of Stone’s song. However, it also acknowledged that the phrase “all I want for Christmas is you” was not originated by Stone.
Last week, it was announced that Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has been knocked off the top spot in the race for Christmas No.1 in the U.S. by Wham’s “Last Christmas.”
It marked the first time a Christmas song besides Carey’s unimpeachable “All I Want For Christmas is You” has topped the chart since its launch in September 2020.
Billboard said that Carey’s anthem has topped the Global 200 chart for a record total of 19 weeks since December 2020.
Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley — who formed the British pop duo in 1981 with the late George Michael — said in a statement that he was “delighted” to learn that Wham!’s perennial Christmas favorite had secured the spot.
He added: “Thank you everyone who has embraced the song as a little piece of their own Merry Christmas.”
Despite the change in ranking on the Billboard charts, Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” continues to dominate the radio airwaves, playlists and festive parties across the world.
Released three decades ago, Carey is still reaping the benefits of the record-breaking Christmas classic, pulling in millions of dollars in royalties annually, according to estimates. Each year, Carey earns an estimated $2.5 to $3 million from royalties for the song, data from Forbes and The Economist noted.
As of 2017, the song had generated over $60 million through royalties since its release, according to The Economist. Carey’s co-writer, Walter Afanasieff, is also expected to make a significant chunk of royalties. It is the most-streamed holiday track of all time.
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