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I remember watching The Bodyguard on VHS when I was 9 or 10 years old. I even liked it enough to rewatch it a few times. Then about a year later, when the slightly similar (minus the sappy love story) and far superior In the Line of Fire came out, I mostly forgot about the former film. One thing I did not forget about, however, was the centerpiece of The Bodyguard's soundtrack: "I Will Always Love You" recorded by Whitney Houston. The radio played it constantly, for years afterwards. Even today, the bass drum --> dramatic pause --> Whitney belting out the chorus still gets me.

What I didn't realize back then (in addition to the fact that Dolly Parton of all people, not Whitney Houston, wrote the original song!) was that few pop stories explain the drama and high stakes of music ownership as cleanly as the one surrounding the song: 

• Dolly Parton writes a song and keeps her publishing;
• Elvis wants to cover it, but demands half;
• Dolly says no;
• Whitney Houston records a cover that becomes a global supernova;
• Dolly earns for decades.

Here’s the layperson’s guide to what that means in plain English — plus some numbers we can actually point to.

MUSIC IP 101

When you hear a song, there are two copyrights at play:

1. The composition (melody/lyrics) — owned by the songwriter(s) and/or their music publisher.

2. The sound recording (the specific recorded performance) — usually owned by the record label (and sometimes shared with the artist).

Covers (like Whitney’s of "I Will Always Love You") use a new sound recording of the same composition. In the U.S., once a song has been released, anyone can make a cover by getting a mechanical license and paying the statutory mechanical royalty (per copy/sale/stream) to the composition owner(s). In 1992–93, when The Bodyguard landed, that statutory rate was 6.25¢ per copy for songs up to five minutes.

Radio adds a twist: in the U.S., AM/FM (terrestrial) radio does not pay a performance royalty on the sound recording, only on the composition. That means the songwriter/publisher gets paid for radio spins; the recording artist/label generally doesn’t (digital/satellite is different).

THE TIMELINE

• 1973–74: Dolly writes and records “I Will Always Love You,” a No. 1 country hit in 1974. She owns the publishing (her company).

• Early 1970s: Elvis wants to record it, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker demands half the publishing. Dolly says no — a heartbreaking (at the time) but ultimately quite savvy business decision for her.

• 1982: Dolly re-records the song for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; it hits No. 1 on country again.

• 1992: Whitney Houston records a cover for The Bodyguard. The single spends 14 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S.; the soundtrack becomes the best-selling film soundtrack ever. Label profits were estimated in the hundreds of millions.

• Before Whitney, Dolly had even offered the song to Patti LaBelle, who later admitted she regretted missing out on the chance to perhaps have her own "Whitney moment" with it.

WHO GOT PAID

Dolly Parton (songwriter & publisher)

• Mechanical royalties (every album/single sold) + performance royalties (radio/TV/venues) + other uses (films/ads/streaming).

• Credible reporting pegs Dolly’s take at around $10 million in the 1990s alone from Whitney’s version — just as songwriter/publisher (not counting anything before/after). Dolly has publicly described investing those royalties in a Nashville office/shopping complex, calling it “the house that Whitney built.”

Whitney Houston (recording artist)

• Artist royalties from sales of the Bodyguard soundtrack/single, plus digital uses, touring halo, etc. Exact artist deals are confidential, but contemporaneous reporting estimated Whitney earned about $33 million from The Bodyguard soundtrack era. Remember: that figure relates to the album/era, not just one song.

The label (Arista/BMG)

• Owned Whitney’s master recording and the soundtrack. Label profits were estimated at ~$200 million from the Bodyguard phenomenon. That puts in perspective how much value labels can capture when they own the master and the album explodes.

The math / bottom line:

• Composition side (Dolly): Each physical sale of Whitney’s single/album triggered mechanical royalties at statutory rates (6.25¢ in 1992–93; then rising). Add performance royalties from radio/TV and global uses. That’s how you plausibly reach ~$10M in the 1990s and keep earning ever since.

• Recording side (Whitney/Arista): Artist royalty rates vary and are recoupable (studio costs, videos, advances). Still, given The Bodyguard’s scale, tens of millions to Whitney from that era are consistent with industry reporting — while the label captured enormous profits owning the master.

• Caveat: Every contract is different, and most are private; figures above are best available estimates from reputable reporting, not audited statements.

• Because Dolly kept 100% of her publishing, she got paid every time Whitney’s recording sold, was broadcast, or was licensed (as the song). Because Whitney didn’t write the song, she didn’t share in those publishing checks — but she did earn artist/recording income tied to the master and soundtrack success.

THE ELVIS "NO"

Turning down Elvis was a masterclass in owning your IP. Had Dolly ceded half her publishing, every dollar that followed — from Whitney’s sales to decades of airplay — would have been split down the middle. Instead, she bet on the song and on retaining control. As she later put it: “I had to keep that copyright in my pocket.”

WHY THIS MATTERS

• Who gets to own? Dolly’s decision underscores how rare — and powerful — it is for a writer, especially a woman in 1970s Nashville, to own her catalog. That ownership enabled long-term wealth and philanthropy.

• Cross-genre alchemy: A white country ballad became an R&B/pop juggernaut through Whitney’s voice and Clive Davis’s vision. Dolly later directed some of those royalties back into a predominantly Black neighborhood in Nashville as a tribute to Whitney.

• Radio’s royalty gap: U.S. terrestrial radio still doesn’t pay artists/labels for sound recordings. In the Whitney era, that meant Whitney’s radio dominance paid Dolly (as writer) but not Whitney (as performer) for U.S. spins — an imbalance many advocacy groups are still trying to fix.

THE LESSON FOR CREATORS

1. If you write it, fight to own it. Publishing is the quiet fortune. Elvis’s “ask” shows how valuable it is — and why Dolly’s “no” is taught in music-business classes.

2. Covers can supercharge catalogs. A definitive cover can generate bigger lifetime earnings for the songwriter than the original recording ever did.

3. Policy matters. Royalty rules (like the U.S. radio gap) shape who profits. That’s not just industry trivia — it’s how culture is funded.

This case study reminds us that great songs are assets — waiting for the right moment, voice, and opportunity to become legendary (and legendarily lucrative).

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