Paul McCartney

Overview

Paul McCartney's solo and Wings-era catalog continues to earn through streaming, classic-rock radio memory, licensing demand, and deep cross-generational recognition.

• Genre: Rock / Pop
• Country: United Kingdom
• Active since: 1970

Short Answer

Yes — estimated $6M-$20M/year.

Sources

• Maybe I'm Amazed and Live and Let Die remain globally familiar catalog songs.
• Strong songwriter participation can materially improve retained economics.
• Classic-rock playlists and sync-style reuse keep the solo catalog commercially active.

Estimated Artist-Side Annual Earnings

• $6M-$20M/year

Revenue Breakdown

• Estimated gross catalog revenue: $10M-$28M/year
• Estimated artist or estate cut: $6M-$20M/year
• Estimated label share: $2M-$6M/year
• Estimated publisher share: $900K-$3M/year
• Estimated writer share: $1.2M-$4M/year
• Assumptions: Estimate assumes strong publishing participation, global legacy-streaming scale, and ongoing licensing value from the biggest solo-era recordings.

Ownership and Catalog Status

• Masters: Mixed across legacy label agreements and catalog rights structures
• Publishing: Substantial songwriter-side participation is assumed
• Catalog sale status: No full catalog sale adjustment is assumed here
• Notes: Modeled from long-tail catalog performance and likely songwriter economics, not private royalty statements.

Top Songs

• Live and Let Die · Red Rose Speedway · 1973
• Maybe I'm Amazed · McCartney · 1970

Revenue Strategy

• catalog streaming
• classic rock and legacy pop playlist use
• sync licensing
• publishing and performance royalties

Key Career Highlights

• Known for: One of the strongest post-Beatles solo catalogs, with songs that remain useful across film, playlists, and legacy pop listening.
• Highlight: Maybe I'm Amazed and Live and Let Die still anchor the solo catalog's long-tail economics decades after release.

Insight

Writer-led legacy catalogs often compound better because the artist participates on both the recording and publishing sides.