A 74-year-old Musician Makes A Million A Year From An Unpopular Song Written Nearly 50 Years Ago. Here's How.

If you went backmost successful clip and asked composer and musician Mark Mothersbaugh to foretell what his biggest moneymaker would beryllium successful his astir 50-year career, he would not personification said "Uncontrollable Urge."

The now 74-year-old musician has composed euphony for TV shows for illustration "The Fairly OddParents" and "Rugrats" and movies for illustration "Thor: Ragnarok" and "The Lego Movie," but "Uncontrollable Urge," a opus he wrote successful 1978 arsenic a founding unit of nan group Devo, has turned into his biggest guidelines of income complete nan past decade.

Mothersbaugh's female and caput Anita Greenspan told Rolling Stone earlier this play that nan composer makes $1 cardinal per twelvemonth successful royalties connected conscionable that 1 song.

The turning constituent for "Uncontrollable Urge" was erstwhile nan MTV play clip show Ridiculousness first launched successful 2011. The show, which spotlights and reacts to viral Internet play videos, features a surface of "Uncontrollable Urge" arsenic its taxable song.

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After complete 12 years moving connected MTV and complete 1,500 episodes, Ridiculousness has catapulted "Uncontrollable Urge" to taxable opus fame. At 1 constituent successful June 2020, Variety noticed that "Ridiculousness" aired for 113 hours retired of MTV's 168-hour week of programming.

Still, nan song's occurrence came arsenic a astonishment to its writer.

"I've written truthful galore different songs for films and tv shows," Mothersbaugh told Rolling Stone. "I would've been shocked [years ago] if you told maine this is nan 1 that would spell this premier guidelines of income."Mark Mothersbaugh. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for AFI

Mothersbaugh wrote "Uncontrollable Urge" arsenic nan first measurement to Devo's debut album, "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" The opus was ne'er released arsenic a azygous and has only earned $150,000 crossed each clip from Spotify streaming royalties. It ne'er made it to nan Billboard Hot 100, dissimilar nan 1980s deed "Whip It" from Devo, which peaked astatine number 14 connected nan Billboard Hot 100.

"This was nan very first opus disconnected our first album," Mothersbaugh told Rolling Stone. "But it's a bully ironic twist because this was 1 of nan songs we ne'er moreover made a euphony video for. And now it's perchance nan most-played opus ever connected MTV."

Theme songs are ample earners

Mothersbaugh isn't nan only musician to complaint successful connected a lucrative taxable song.

Ed Robertson, who wrote nan taxable opus for "The Big Bang Theory," told Rolling Stone that he has made betwixt 7 to 10 figures truthful acold successful afloat royalties for nan 1 opus from nan clip nan show ran from 2007 to 2019 to its syndications connected TBS today.

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Marco Jacobo, who created nan taxable opus for "Abbott Elementary," told nan publication that he had made six figures from nan opus since nan show came retired successful 2021.

The precocious musician Allee Willis had a 15% trim of nan "I'll Be There for You" Friends taxable song. That trim equals astir $700,000 per twelvemonth for Primary Wave Publishing, nan institution that now owns nan authorities to her work, per Rolling Stone.

One manufacture executive told nan publication that web TV pays 15 times overmuch per infinitesimal for euphony than a streaming activity for illustration Spotify.

It's not conscionable shows that net bully — TV advertisement taxable songs are lucrative too. The New York Times reports that David Paton, 1 of nan 2 men who wrote nan Billboard Top 10 deed "Magic" successful 1974, earns 7 figures from nan opus utilized successful a TV advertisement for Ozempic.