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Taylor Swift Made Six Figures in Royalties for Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Sour’

Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour album made its debut in May and has already become one of the most listened to pop albums of the year, but with great success comes great…

taylor swift, olivia rodrigo

Taylor Swift attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. Pop music star and Disney actress Olivia Rodrigo makes a brief statement to reporters at the beginning of the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on July 14, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Jon Kopaloff/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour album made its debut in May and has already become one of the most listened to pop albums of the year, but with great success comes great responsibility.

Though most of the reviews of the album were generally positive, many Taylor Swift and Paramore fans pointed out some similarities in Rodrigo’s music. This made its way to the musicians who, per Uproxx, made nearly $2 million respectively from being retroactively credited on certain tracks.

Per the report, the bulk of the royalty money comes from Rodrigo’s track “Good 4 U,” which was influenced by Paramore’s “Misery Business.” To date, the single has raked in at least $2.4 million from streaming, sales, licensing, and airplay worldwide. After being awarded songwriting credits, Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Josh Farro now hold a collective 50 percent ownership of the song, meaning they’re making the same amount of money from the song as are Rodrigo and her producer Dan Nigro.

Compare Paramore's 2007"Misery Business" to Rodrigo's "Good For You" below:

Rodrigo’s other hit song “Deja Vu” gave songwriting credits to Taylor Swift, sounding similar to her 2019 song "Cruel Summer," which has earned at least $1.3 million to date. Swift’s team also holds 50 percent of the song, meaning Swift herself has 25 percent and her producer Jack Antonoff has 20. That means Swift herself has earned at least $325,000 from influencing Rodrigo on the song, while Rodrigo and Nigro have both pocketed at least $500,000 from publishing revenues.

Compare Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" and "Rodrigo's "Deja Vu" below:

Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.