74-year-old musician earns $1m a year from a 50-year-old song

Mark Mothersbaugh, a 74-year-old composer and musician, earns $1 million annually from royalties on a song he wrote nearly five decades ago. The song, “Uncontrollable Urge,” was the opening track on the debut album of Devo, the band Mothersbaugh co-founded in 1978.

Although the song was not a commercial hit upon its release and has generated only $150,000 in Spotify streaming royalties over its lifetime, its inclusion as the theme song for MTV’s comedy series Ridiculousness has significantly increased its value.

The show, which debuted in 2011, features viral internet videos and has aired over 1,500 episodes, making it one of MTV’s most aired programmes. Its frequent reruns have brought “Uncontrollable Urge” to prominence, turning it into Mothersbaugh’s primary source of income.

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Mothersbaugh, known for composing soundtracks for films such as Thor: Ragnarok and The Lego Movie and shows including Rugrats and The Fairly OddParents, expressed surprise at the song’s success. “I would’ve been shocked [years ago] if you told me this is the one that would become this prime source of income,” he told Rolling Stone.

Mothersbaugh’s wife and manager, Anita Greenspan, highlighted the irony of the song’s success. She noted that in MTV’s early years, Devo’s music videos were frequently aired before the network stopped playing them due to their subversive themes. Now, she says, “’Uncontrollable Urge’ is easily the most-played song on MTV.”

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Theme songs for television shows and advertisements have become significant revenue streams for songwriters. For instance, Ed Robertson, writer of the theme for The Big Bang Theory, has earned millions from the song, while Marco Jacobo has made six figures since Abbott Elementary debuted in 2021. Similarly, royalties from Friends theme song “I’ll Be There for You” generate approximately $700,000 annually for Primary Wave Publishing.

Television networks generally pay significantly more for music rights than streaming services. According to an industry executive cited by Rolling Stone, network television pays 15 times more per minute of music than platforms like Spotify.