When Taylor Swift's song "Welcome to New York" was released, it wasn't exactly well-received by all New Yorkers. It's simply not one of her best songs—it sounds more like a NYC Tourism jingle, and it didn't exactly help matters that after its release Swift was named New York City's Global Welcome Ambassador, and the song began playing in the city's fleet of yellow cabs.
All was forgiven, however, because "Blank Space." But Swift also announced she would donate all proceeds from the song to a good cause—“The fans were wonderful enough to make it No. 1 on iTunes. It’s selling really well—which is good, because I’m donating all of my proceeds to New York City public schools.” And now she's done just that.
According to Capital, "Swift has donated $50,000 to New York City public schools... Though Swift has yet to publicly announce her donation, Department of Education officials confirmed that she has already made at least one gift to the school system." Did the song only make $50,000? No, but that was about Swift's take, though Capital seems to believe she's holding back:
"The song was RIAA-certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies in the U.S., and ranking high on European and Australian charts. While revenues from iTunes sales are subject to variation, artists often earn approximately 10 cents from each 99-cent single single sold. Swift’s 'Welcome to New York' cost $1.29 on iTunes, a figure that would likely raise the song’s proceeds to above the donated $50,000."
However, there's no cookie cutter when it comes to contracts or making money in the cloud, and we don't know the exact details regarding sales in Swift's case... so let's just assume she isn't pocketing any cash for, what, cat food? Crafting? Buying gifts for her fans?
