Song

Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson · Bad · 1987

high confidence

Estimate at a glance

How much money does Smooth Criminal make?

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson is estimated at $390K-$1.2M/year on the artist side, with gross track revenue and ownership context separated below.

Takeaway: Smooth Criminal is one of the stronger modeled catalog earners here because replay demand and ownership context both support a durable annual range.

Smooth Criminal stays commercially relevant because its riff, hook, and visual identity remain unusually durable in global catalog culture.

What stands out

  • Currently ranks around the top 20% of tracked songs by modeled artist-side earnings
  • Released in 1987 and still shows earnings power roughly 39 years later
  • Ranks #4 among 5 tracked songs for Michael Jackson
  • External listening links available
  • high confidence estimate

Why the song still earns

  • catalog streaming
  • social and short-form reuse
  • sync and media familiarity

Smooth Criminal lands in the top 20% of tracked songs by estimated artist-side earnings.

The song still reads as an evergreen catalog asset roughly 39 years after release.

Last updated: July 15, 2026

artist-side split is modeled + gross track revenue is separated. Why?

The headline number is the modeled artist-side annual share for this recording when split data exists.

Modeled artist-side range $390K-$1.2M/year
Gross track revenue $1.1M-$3.5M/year
Ownership context Included below
Platform signals Listening links only
Last updated July 15, 2026
Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

How It Compares

Smooth Criminal is compared against nearby songs in the catalog based on artist overlap, era, genre, and modeled earnings range.

Song Artist Estimated yearly midpoint
Smooth Criminal
selected song
Michael Jackson $795,000
Billie Jean
same artist · same genre
Michael Jackson $1,375,000
Umbrella
same genre · similar earnings band
Rihanna $1,125,000
Save Your Tears
same genre · similar earnings band
The Weeknd $1,255,000

Revenue Breakdown

Gross track revenue $1.1M-$3.5M/year
100% of the lead revenue lane
Artist-side share $390K-$1.2M/year
35% of the lead revenue lane
Label master share $371K-$1.1M/year
65% of the lead revenue lane

Bars reflect modeled annual midpoint ranges, not audited royalty statements.

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Reader questions about Smooth Criminal

How much did Smooth Criminal make in total?

Smooth Criminal does not have a public lifetime total, so the estimate stays focused on modeled annual earnings instead of claiming an audited career total.

How much does Smooth Criminal make per stream?

Smooth Criminal does not have a single public per-stream rate because payouts vary by platform, territory, subscription tier, and contract structure. The estimate here is modeled from aggregate streaming, licensing, and catalog behavior instead.

Who owns Smooth Criminal?

Smooth Criminal is modeled from public-facing catalog behavior and conservative rights-split assumptions, not from audited royalty statements.

Show ownership and assumptions

Smooth Criminal is modeled from public-facing catalog behavior and conservative rights-split assumptions, not from audited royalty statements.

Supporting Revenue Context

Estimated gross track revenue$1.1M-$3.5M/year
Estimated artist-side cut$390K-$1.2M/year
Estimated label master share$371K-$1.1M/year
Estimated publishing share$117K-$360K/year
Estimated songwriter share$164K-$504K/year
MastersLikely controlled through the recording label or distributor unless a specific rights sale is known
PublishingWriter and publisher splits affect the publishing share shown here
Catalog sale statusNo specific catalog sale adjustment is modeled for this track

Assumptions: Estimate keeps the current headline range as the artist-side figure and models gross track, label, publishing, and songwriter lanes from that conservative annual range.

Notes: Smooth Criminal is modeled from public-facing catalog behavior and conservative rights-split assumptions, not from audited royalty statements.

Split-aware estimate

The headline number is the modeled artist-side annual share for this recording when split data exists.

  • Gross track revenue is separated from artist-side take-home where the page has enough split context.
  • Ownership notes on masters or publishing are included and should be read alongside the revenue number.
  • All figures are conservative annual modeled ranges based on streaming behavior, cultural replay value, sync potential, and available ownership information, not public royalty statements.

Read the full methodology.

More Context

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