The Lightning Seeds’ Ian Broudie has said ‘Three Lions’ only earned £6,000 when it topped the charts during the 2018 World Cup.
Speaking to The Mirror, Gomez frontman Tom Gray recalled a conversation he had with Broudie back in 2019.
“I was playing at a festival in 2019 with the Lightning Seeds,” Gray told The Mirror.
“And I said ‘Hey, you know that song of yours. How much money did you make from it during the world cup?’… He said about six grand. And it took me a while to wipe my jaw off the floor.”
The surprising figure can be attributed to the low fees streaming services pay out to artists, as well as any portions taken by labels and other parties. ‘Three Lions’ co-writer David Baddiel added that “as an outsider to the music industry, the economics of streaming shock me”.
“I get a fair few folks suggesting that Frank [Skinner] and I must be making a packet from ‘Three Lions’ and all I can say is: I’m very glad it’s not my only source of income,” he said.
“I’m lucky enough to do more than OK from broadcasting, writing and performing comedy, but that’s not the case with young music-makers who can hardly pay rent and feed themselves.”
‘Three Lions’ jumped up the charts again recently, peaking at Number Four. Earlier this month, Broudie reflected on the track 25 years on since its release.
“People walk past my window late at night singing it, it just makes me smile,” Broudie told Sky News.
“There’s a certain poetic symmetry, 25 years on, same venue [Wembley], there is something. You like to feel there’s a wind blowing on your side.”
The Lightning Seeds teamed up with Baddiel and Skinner for a performance of ‘Three Lions’ at a last-minute gig in the lead-up to the Euro 2020 final earlier this month.