Experts have branded the artist a full-blown marketing genius for the way he’s been able to not just generate hype for his work, but also to translate that into endorsement deals, sales and streams that happen almost entirely organically. A true self-made man, Lil Nas X began as a Twitter meme account before turning to music, and thanks to his solid following (in addition to his raw talent), his success came quickly and relatively easily compared to others who’ve struggled to make names for themselves in the ultra-competitive entertainment world. What’s more, he has a knack for turning controversy into commercial success: One look at his largely NSFW “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” video and its product tie-ins, like his infamous Satan Shoes, will confirm that. When he got backlash for the deal, he released an “apology” video—which cut to him grinding on Satan and was yet another pure viral moment. When Nike threatened a lawsuit, he mocked it once more, saying he had a court date that ended up being a promo for his “INDUSTRY BABY” video. Through it all, he’s stayed true to himself, including being open and proud of his sexuality and Blackness. Needless to say, that all amounts to serious cash. Find out what we know about Lil Nas X’s net worth and exactly how he made it happen!
How did Lil Nas X become famous?
Born Montero Lamar Hill, Lil Nas was raised outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The son of a gospel singer, he developed an interest in music early, playing trumpet in his school band (until he dropped the instrument to avoid looking uncool). After graduating high school, he attended the University of West Georgia, majoring in computer science, but dropped out after a year to pursue music, working jobs at restaurants and Six Flags Georgia to make ends meet. As a true Gen Z icon, Lil Nas X told NPR he was enthralled with Internet culture and used it to get his career as an entertainer off of the ground. He first made Facebook videos, then moved to Instagram—but it wasn’t until he moved on to Twitter that he found his footing, creating pop culture memes that were as biting as they were hilarious, with tweets from his Nicki Minajfan account frequently going viral. (He reportedly may have used “Tweetdecking,” a term used for the practice of using multiple accounts to inorganically inflate tweets’ reach to make them go viral.) “Lil Nas X started out on Twitter as a fan of the platform and the culture first and foremost. That, coupled with his authentic voice and humor, is what allowed him to grow an organic fanbase,” Kevin O’Donnell, manager of music partnerships at Twitter, said in a feature on how the star used the 140-character social media network to build momentum. “[Lil Nas X] established a built-in core of people who were interested in what he had to say—and that’s what helped his career take off faster than almost any other artist in recent memory.” Lil Nas X realized his social media presence was strong enough to potentially serve as a launchpad for some of his other creative passions and pursuits—including music. “It was like, I’m able to go viral, but I’m not promoting anything that’s gonna help me,” he told Time. “Until music came along.” He began recording music in his closet, dropping the Soundcloud mixtape Nasarati in 2018. That same year, he purchased a beat for $30 from a producer named YoungKio (who cameos in the “Old Town Road” video below) and recorded “Old Town Road” for $20 at a local studio, taking less than an hour. Released in early 2019, the cheeky country-rap tune went viral thanks to TikTok and a good 100 memes that Lil Nas X said he personally created. “People were like, ‘Where are these memes coming from?’” he recalled to Time. “If you see something going around the Internet, people want to join in.” The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 83 and quickly shot to No. 1 in April 2019, where it stayed for a record-shattering 19 consecutive weeks. The success of the song led to a deal with Columbia Records, as well as a series of remixes. “Old Town Road” wasn’t without controversy or backlash, however: Billboard declined to place it on their country music charts, with the outlet claiming that it didn’t have “enough elements of today’s country music” to qualify, which many music fans and industry insiders acknowledged may have been rooted in homophobia and racism. Country icon Billy Ray Cyrus hopped onto a remix of the song, which garnered even more attention from both the hip-hop and country music communities. Lil Nas X told Timeof “Old Town Road”’s classifications on Billboard charts, “The song is country trap. It’s not one, it’s not the other. It’s both. It should be on both.” Ironically, that controversy only bolstered the track’s success: “Old Town Road” was certified diamond in October 2019—the fastest song in history to do so. In January 2021, it became the highest-certified song ever in the history of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also won a slew of awards, including:
American Music Award for Favorite Song — Rap/Hip-Hop (2019)Apple Music Award for Song of the Year (2019)BET Hip-Hop Awards for Single of the Year and Best Collab, Duo or Group (2019)Country Music Association Award for Musical Event of the Year (2019)MTV Video Music Awards for Song of the Year and Best Direction (2019)Teen Choice Award for Choice Song — R&B/Hip-Hop (2019)Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video (2020)Billboard Music Awards for Top Hot 100 Song, Top Streaming Song, Top Selling Song and Top Rap Song (2020)
“Everything lined up for this moment to take me to this place,” Lil Nas X told Time in August 2019. “Not to sound self-centered, but it feels like I’m chosen, in a way, to do this stuff.”
What is Lil Nas X’s net worth?
Lil Nas X has an estimated net worth of $7 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, though this estimate is likely very conservative considering how much money he made from “Old Town Road” alone.
How much money has Lil Nas X made for “Old Town Road?”
Forbes reports that “Old Town Road” generated a whopping $14 million in profits. A big part of the song’s profitability? The fact that Lil Nas X literally only spent $50 to make it! That said, he doesn’t keep all of the track’s royalties, because the tune samples Nine Inch Nails’ 2008 song “34 Ghosts IV.” Lil Nas X doesn’t mind one bit, gushing to Variety, “Luckily, Trent Reznor [and Atticus Ross] approved of the sample because if he didn’t, I don’t know where I would be right now. I don’t know if they have 50 percent, but they get a good [size] share of the royalties, which they 100 percent deserve. I mean, the song wouldn’t be here without them. I was, like, ‘I don’t care if he takes 99 percent of the royalties—just let the song stay out.’ Because I can build off it, you know?” By this estimate, Lil Nas X made at least $7 million off just this one track, though some portions may also go to Cyrus for his feature. Lil Nas X made another bucket of cash thanks to his Doritos commercial, which featured the song as well.
How much did the producer of “Old Town Road” make?
Lil Nas X’s $30 purchase of the “Old Town Road” beat off of the BeatStars platform came with limited distribution rights, according to CNBC. Once the song became a smash, the rapper and the music production service renegotiated a contract. “Lil Nas X has played such an important role in making sure his fans and all the people that are fans of the song are aware of YoungKio and his contribution to the song,” BeatStars CEO Abe Batshon told CNBC Make It. “Not a lot of artists do that.” According to CNBC, producers pay a monthly fee to host their tracks on BeatStars and get 100% of the purchase price. While YoungKio’s revenue from the track isn’t known, he nabbed a deal with Universal Music Group thanks largely to the massive success of “Old Town Road,” so it’s safe to say he’s doing well from it.
How much did “Old Town Road” sell?
“Old Town Road” has sold more than 18.4 million copies in pure sales and streaming equivalents. Stateside, it’s sold more than 14 million units and streaming equivalents—with 150 streams totaling one pure sale equivalent. That is a lot of streams! Lil Nas X celebrated the milestone on Instagram, writing in a since-deleted post, “OLD TOWN ROAD IS OFFICIALLY 14 TIMES PLATINUM! MOST PLATINUMS FOR ANY SONG EVER! LETS GOOO!” R&B singer SZA had the top comment on the post (via Billboard), writing, “BRUH !!! Lmao what’s higher than diamond !????? I can’t even think of a gem JUST GIVE HIM THE RADIO.”
How much did Lil Nas X make from Montero?
Lil Nas X released his debut full-length album, Montero, in September 2021, featuring collaborations with heavy hitters including Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion,Doja Cat, Jack Harlow and Ryan Tedder. According to Billboard, the album sold a solid 126,000 copies in its first week with 147 million streaming equivalents. Billboard called the early numbers an “excellent performance for a debut album,” especially since he debuted at No. 2 behind Drake. To date, the album has sold nearly 1.9 million copies and streaming equivalents worldwide. While Lil Nas X’s exact take-home pay for the album isn’t publicly known, we do know that he donated a lot of money to charity along with the project. After taking part in a fake pregnancy photoshoot to promote his “baby” Montero, he released a “baby registry” of LGBTQIA+ charities to go along with each track of the album. He raised over $100,000 for various causes in just the first weekend of release.
How much did Lil Nas X make from Roblox?
More than 33 million visitors watched Lil Nas X’s Roblox shows in November 2020, a spokesperson for the game told Billboard. In addition to his payments for performing in the virtual event, he also made big money off of merchandise tied to the Roblox performances. “The merch for Nas is creeping towards eight figures. We’re in healthy seven figures,” Roblox’s global head of music Jon Vlassopulos said at the CogX conference (via Music Ally). “That’s money.”
How much did Lil Nas X make from “HOLIDAY?”
“HOLIDAY” deserves its all-caps stylization, because Lil Nas X made some serious Christmas cash with the song. The tune, released in November 2020, went platinum in the U.S., Australia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden and double platinum in Brazil. There were a couple reasons why the song was such a smash, one being Lil Nas’ collaboration with Roblox and another being the track’s amazing music video: Lil Nas X stars as a futuristic Santa Clause-esque Kris Kringle, and Michael J. Foxappears as Marty McFly! Though his profits haven’t been revealed for the tune, its streaming, sales and merch tie-ins likely mean he made a pretty penny off of the festive track.
How much did Lil Nas X make from “INDUSTRY BABY?”
In October 2021, “Industry Baby” became Lil Nas X’s third No. 1 single. To date, it’s garnered more than 14 million combined sales and streaming equivalents worldwide. The song was co-produced by none other than Kanye West, which means that it may likely have been a bit more expensive to produce than much of Lil Nas X’s previous work—and clearly much pricier than “Old Town Road.” While we don’t know his specific profits for the song, it’s safe to say that West, his production team, collaborator Jack Harlow and Columbia Records all got a significant slice of the pie here.
How much does Lil Nas X make a year?
According to Forbes, Lil Nas X made $14 million in 2020 alone. Contributing factors are likely largely the continued success of “Old Town Road,” plus his deals with Roblox, the success of singles “HOLIDAY” and “Rodeo,” released that year; and his modeling for Rihanna’s Fenty Skin. Speaking of his work with the Barbados-born billionaire, RiRi complimented his recent music as well, which absolutely floored him—see his adorable (and obviously relatable) reaction below! Lil Nas X has also had product placement and branding deals with Durex, Wrangler, Logitech, Panera, MSCHF (for his infamous “Satan Shoes”), Taco Bell and UberEats (see his hilarious commercial with Elton Johnbelow), all of which pay handsomely.
How much does Lil Nas X make a day?
Assuming Lil Nas X takes home $14 million annually, that means he makes a whopping $38,356.16 every single day.
How much did Lil Nas X sign for?
It’s not known how much Lil Nas X made to sign with Columbia Records. However, we do know that there was reportedly a bidding war between several major labels to snag him—and he turned down a $1 million deal with Amuse before signing with Columbia. That means Columbia Records likely had to significantly sweeten the pot to more than $1 million to work with the hip-hop superstar, and he’s clearly worth every red cent. Next, find out how much awards show darling Billie Eilish is worth.
