“Rich Men Of North Richmond” is providing Oliver Anthony with ample riches.
The overnight viral sensation of country music, Oliver Anthony, is all the community can talk about. From learning about who the Farmville, VA native is, how he began writing songs, and now digesting as much content as we can, Oliver Anthony is the talk of the nation.
While he just released a new single, “I Want To Go Home,” the public is still infatuated with the tune highlighting his raw and unfiltered songwriting skills, “Rich Men Of North Richmond.”
The single skyrocketed to the top of streaming charts, surpassing heavy hitters like Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen. The track even gained attention from outsiders like Gucci Mane. Everyone wanted to get their hands on the talent that Anthony possesses.
However, that was not the hand of cards that Anthony wanted.
He revealed in a Facebook post that he turned down multiple deals ranging anywhere from a million bucks, to as high as an $8 million deal from the success of the RadioWV video, leaving music industry professionals stunned.
“People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight.”
However, just because Anthony turned down that deal does not mean he is walking home empty-handed from the single’s success.
The New York Post reported that in the first week of the single’s release, it had 147,000 downloads, paying Anthony 70 cents per download– that equals an astounding $102,000.
That is just the tip of the iceberg, though.
Spotify streams are at 2 million per day, and Anthony makes roughly 4 cents per stream on that platform combined with the $1 downloads he is selling on Bandcamp, or fans can pay monthly to listen to his music on Patreon for $1 to $3 per month.’
“The general rule of thumb is that every million streams is about $5,000 if you own all the rights.”
Said Ross Michaels, the co-president and founder of Park Avenue Artists.
While the reported $40K is hypothesized (but still very plausible) from estimated streaming royalties combined with Bandcamp and Patreon streams, as well as YouTube or TikTok, we do know that Anthony is racking in some serious cash from his success.
Billboard estimated that Anthony had earned over $350,000 in royalties thus far.
While $8 million still is a lot of money, Anthony currently lives in a camper he bought for $750 on a piece of land he is paying off, so I’d say he is doing just fine right now. I am sure he could even pay off the rest of his land loan if he wished.
While many might read this and see that he is making the money most dream of, his turning down the mega-offer shows that Anthony means it when he is not looking for fame from his music but using music as an outlet.
“I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they’re being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung.
No editing, no agent, no bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”
Could that change down the road?
Only time will tell…
