Ariana Grande is one of the most successful singers of her generation. Her most-recent album, Thank U, Next, as well as her song "7 Rings," both rocketed on top of music charts and also raked millions. However, not known to many, Ari only got a small part of that millions and sacrificed more just so she can release "7 Rings."
Grande's Thank U, Next was inspired by the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller and her recent breakup with Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. She talked about her post-breakup growth in the album and at the same time, promoting self-love.
But, "7 Rings" has a different story. The song is focused more on Ari herself. It touched on the singer's success, being a single woman, her independence, and how she can not take care of herself and her family and friends.
What makes it more different is that Ariana also took an extra step to release it. It was revealed that the melody of "7 Rings" was taken from "My Favorite Things," which was famously sung by Julie Andrews in the movie The Sound of Music in the 50s.
Ariana's controversial single "7 Rings" reigned at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks last year. It is her biggest hit on the chart so far. It even surpassed the record of her album's lead single "Thank U, Next."
Though the song was a success for the former Nickelodeon star, she didn't reap all the benefits of it. According to The New York Times, Ari gave out 90 percent of her royalties for "7 Rings" to the estate of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III. The two legendary songwriters own the rights to the Sound of Music melody.
Since Grande and her label, Republic, didn't want to make the song without the catchy tune, she signed a deal with Concord, the music company that owns the late songwriters' back catalogue since 2017. Concord, reportedly, requested 90 percent of the royalties and Grande's camp accepted the deal without further negotiation.
However, the slash on the earnings that Ari could have received did not stop there. It is worthy to note that Rodgers and Hammerstein are just two of 10 songwriters credited on "7 Rings."
Typically, each songwriter gets a cut of the royalties. This means Grande will see less than the remaining 10 percent of the track's royalties.
Insider noted that it is common for labels to sacrifice a percentage of the royalties when their song relies on a sample. However, the site believed the 90 percent on "7 Rings" was too large.
It cited Gwen Stefani's 2006 song "Wind It Up" as an example. The song sampled The Sound of Music's "Lonely Goatherd," which was also written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The songwriters' camp just asked for 50 percent of the royalties.
