Dolly Parton Will Earn Fortune from Whitney Houston's Death
Dolly Parton, though visibly saddened by Whitney Houston's death during her tribute Sunday, will reportedly earn massive earnings off of the singer.
Dolly Parton penned Whitney Houston's most popular hit, "I Will Always Love You," and since the tragic death of the songstress, her music has seen a significant spike in sales. Parton will receive the writer's and publisher's rates, and is already set to gain something, as news outlets have been playing the song nonstop since her untimely passing.
A Microsoft Network poll showed the love ballad to be Houston's most loved song, with 51 percent of all participants voting for it. In comparison, "The Greatest Love of All," another Whitney favorite, was the runner up, with 10 percent of the votes, getting over 300,000 less votes overall.
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Despite Houston's songs' popularity, there is a good chance her estate- or what's left of it- won't be seeing much of the royalties.
"On records, the typical mechanical royalty paid to the writer [or] publisher is about 8 cents per radio performance," a songwriter knowledgeable about the music business told The Huffington Post. "That would all go to Dolly. Whitney is only the singer. She receives an advance from the record company based upon anticipated album sales."
Even if Houston's estate were intact at its 1995 levels, she still would only earn about $2 per album sale, which means it will be much less for her iconic hit. Also, the insider claimed that promotion of the song, which includes music videos and publicity, is taken from the artists' share of money.
Houston was rumored to be practically underwater in terms of finances, however. The Huffington Post reported that she was being kept afloat by the record company.
"Whitney was living off of advances, loans from the record company, and had been [for] quite some time," said the source. "Most likely the estate owes the record company a ton and future sales will be sued to pay back that loan … the songwriters [like Parton] will make a bundle."
Parton is not the only one set to profit off of Whitney's passing. Several hours after the news broke on social media networks and media outlets worldwide, the prices of Houston's most popular hits on iTunes shot up by several dollars.
It is currently unknown if Apple or Sony, who owns the rights to Houston's music, is responsible for the price hike.
