Nathan Carter admitted that he “didn’t really make any money” from Wagon Wheel.
The song was a major country hit when it was released in 2012, with the singer’s cover of Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor’s song becoming a huge commercial success.
While it sold record-breaking copies and gathered over five million views on YouTube, he shared that it wasn’t the financial windfall that people might expect.
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Nathan explained that the success of Wagon Wheel changed his career instantly.
“I went from playing dance halls to theatres,” he told the Sunday Independent. “And then I remember having a conversation with [well-known impresario] Peter Aiken. He said, ‘I think you should do the 3Arena’. I really didn’t think I could sell it out. And he was like, ‘I wouldn’t be saying it if I didn’t think you could’. We went from playing like two nights in Vicar Street to playing the 3Arena the following year. So it was nuts.”
Nathan never made much from single or album sales, with the latter also titled Wagon Wheel.
He said “There’s absolutely no money [in streaming] unless you’re Ed Sheeran and your streaming [numbers] are like a billion.”
The singer continued: “I was signed with Decca Records for a few years and that didn’t work out. They didn’t really know where to position me or what to do with me. The biggest album I ever had [Wagon Wheel] was with them and it went like five times platinum or something. That was really nice, but again, I didn’t really make any money from it.”
However, when it comes to money and financial planning, Nathan is very smart and responsible.
“I’m always striving for the next thing, with investments and property especially,” he shared. “My dad’s a builder and he flipped houses all through the period when I was young. So I ended up getting into that as well.”
Nathan teased new music, after announcing that earlier this year he had parted ways with his manager of 14 years John Farry.
Guy Chambers is his new producer, who previously collaborated with Robbie Williams.
“We won’t officially start recording until January of next year, but we’ve written 12 songs at this stage.
“It’s good fun working with him. He’s from a totally different realm from me. He’s obviously had huge commercial success but it’s still going to be generally country with a tinge of folk.
“He can bring the great mixing abilities and the production aspects of a pop background. I’m not going down the pop route though. I don’t want to be the next Robbie Williams.”
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