Breakups aren’t just tears, deleted Instagram photos, and sad tweets anymore.
When musicians split, fans don’t just get drama—they get hits. We’re talking cold, hard, Spotify-streaming cash.
Welcome to the wild economy of breakup songs, where love lost can mean profits gained.
Halsey Takes Heartbreak Straight to the Bank
Coming out on top (and taking emotional revenge to an art form) is Halsey’s Without Me, inspired by her tumultuous split with rapper G-Eazy.
With over 2.2 billion Spotify streams and an eye-watering 14 million units sold, this isn’t just therapeutic—it’s financially transformative, earning an estimated $3.6 million worldwide.
The music video even featured a G-Eazy lookalike, leaving fans no room for doubt.
Clearly, heartbreak pays off when you have Halsey’s flair for dramatic storytelling.
Olivia Rodrigo’s Teen Angst Hits the Jackpot (Twice!)
Olivia Rodrigo didn’t just write about heartbreak; she practically trademarked it.
drivers license didn’t just dominate TikTok—it hijacked the entire internet when it dropped, pulling in 2.4 billion streams and around $4 million in Spotify royalties alone.
Apparently, nothing sells quite like teenage heartbreak and high school drama.
But Rodrigo wasn’t finished twisting that knife. She quickly followed up with good 4 U, another shot fired at Joshua Bassett.
Despite a sticky copyright clash (Paramore got writing credits after a legal hiccup), the song didn’t lose any steam, snagging another $3.9 million and 2.3 billion streams. If heartbreak is a business model, Rodrigo’s pretty much the CEO.
Miley Cyrus Blooms from the Ashes
And then there’s Miley. Flowers, inspired by her high-profile breakup with Liam Hemsworth, didn’t just hit—it exploded, achieving a massive 2.4 billion Spotify streams, the highest on the entire list.
Miley didn’t just recover; she thrived, scooping up around $4 million in royalties.
Flowers proves there’s life after heartbreak. And evidently, a lot of cash too.
Taylor Swift: The Serial Heartbreaker (Profit-Maker)
Of course, no list of profitable breakups could exclude Taylor Swift. Swift’s Dear John is still making waves, more than a decade after its release, banking over $240,000 from Spotify royalties alone.
Add hits like All Too Well, Forever and Always, and the biting Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve, and Swift practically runs a breakup-hit factory.
The Top 10 Most Profitable Breakup Songs
| Rank | Song | Artist & Subject | Spotify Streams | Spotify Royalties (Worldwide) | Total Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Without Me | Halsey @ G-Eazy | 2,210,193,857 | $3,682,182.97 | 14,360,000 |
| 2 | drivers license | Olivia Rodrigo @ Joshua Bassett | 2,424,254,105 | $4,038,807.34 | 9,570,000 |
| 3 | good 4 U | Olivia Rodrigo @ Joshua Bassett | 2,373,487,458 | $3,954,230.11 | 9,170,000 |
| 4 | Don’t | Ed Sheeran @ Ellie Goulding | 798,828,813 | $1,330,848.80 | 7,150,000 |
| 5 | Call Out My Name | The Weeknd @ Selena Gomez | 2,034,152,540 | $3,388,898.13 | 4,620,000 |
| 6 | Lose You to Love Me | Selena Gomez @ Justin Bieber | 1,324,308,569 | $2,206,298.08 | 4,550,000 |
| 7 | Part of Me | Katy Perry @ Russell Brand | 632,681,660 | $1,054,047.65 | 6,020,000 |
| 8 | Flowers | Miley Cyrus @ Liam Hemsworth | 2,452,891,570 | $4,086,517.36 | 2,500,000 |
| 9 | Dear John | Taylor Swift @ John Mayer | 145,708,873 | $242,750.98 | 6,035,000 |
| 10 | Perfect | Harry Styles @ Taylor Swift | 1,032,240,430 | $1,719,712.56 | 2,810,000 |
How the Data Was Collected
The data collection for this ranking involved careful analysis by experts at GIGAcalculator.
They compiled a seed list of breakup-inspired songs from sources like Billboard, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and BuzzFeed.
Spotify streams, estimated royalties calculated through a dedicated royalties calculator, and certified units sold were all considered, with figures sourced primarily from the US, UK, and Australia. The collection of data concluded in March 2025.
Cash, Chaos, and Catharsis
Breaking up might be hard to do, but musicians have clearly figured out the secret recipe for making it profitable.
The next time you stream that sad breakup anthem, remember: it’s not just art; it’s a carefully calculated payday.
So here’s to the artists who didn’t just survive their splits—they monetised them brilliantly.
