How Much Music

Song

Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson · Bad · 1987

low confidence

editorial meaning/overview is present + related listening context is present. Why?

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

Short Answer

How much money does Smooth Criminal make?

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson earns an estimated $700K-$2.2M/year per year from streaming, licensing, and long-tail catalog replay value.

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

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

Did You Know?

  • Currently ranks around the top 21% 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
  • 3 tracks on the linked album page
  • External listening links available
  • low confidence estimate

Smooth Criminal sits in the top 21% of tracked songs on the site by modeled artist-side earnings.

Last updated: April 2026

Smooth Criminal vs Similar Songs

Song Artist Estimated yearly midpoint
Smooth Criminal Michael Jackson $1,450,000
Beat It
same artist · same album
Michael Jackson $1,600,000
Bad
same artist · same album
Michael Jackson $1,150,000
Thriller
same artist · same genre
Michael Jackson $1,950,000

Listen

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Amazon Music

Why It Still Works

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

Michael Jackson benefits when one recording stays useful across streaming, memory, and licensing contexts long after the release campaign ends.

More Questions About Smooth Criminal

How much did Smooth Criminal make in total?

Smooth Criminal does not have a public lifetime total, so this page 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 by Michael Jackson is modeled from the best available catalog and platform signals, but the exact master and publishing splits are not fully public.

Show ownership and assumptions

Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson is modeled from the best available catalog and platform signals, but the exact master and publishing splits are not fully public.

Supporting Revenue Context

  • catalog streaming
  • social and short-form reuse
  • sync and media familiarity
  • Lifetime estimate: The strongest catalog songs can continue to earn for many years if they remain easy to place, easy to remember, and easy to replay.

Modeled top-line estimate

The headline number is a modeled annual revenue range because a specific artist-side split is not available yet.

  • Gross track revenue is not shown separately here, so the page emphasizes the best available directional estimate.
  • Ownership context is incomplete here, so the estimate should be treated as directional rather than contract-precise.
  • All figures are annual modeled ranges based on streaming behavior, cultural replay value, sync potential, and available ownership information, not public royalty statements.

Read the full site methodology.