Which Led Zeppelin song has sold the most records?
Led Zeppelin is one of the best-selling artists of all time. As one of the most well-known and beloved names in rock history, the troupe that shot to success in the 1960s converted their fans into spending power as their vinyls sit in record collections worldwide as an essential listen for any rock lover. But out of their whole discography, one track has made them the most money.
It’s estimated that all together, the band have sold around 200 to 300 million records, making them the seventh best-selling artist of all time. The Beatles hold the champion title, followed by Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Madonna, Queen and then the British rock troupe.
Their debut album is eight times multi-platinum. Given that the record was already an expensive one to make with the £1,782 cost, now equivalent to £37,047, paid directly out of Jimmy Page’s pocket, he’ll have more than made his money back. Around 15.8 million copies of the record have been sold worldwide, with high streaming numbers pushing their profits up and up.
That was only the beginning as Led Zeppelin IV, released in 1971, was their most commercially successful release. It has a staggering 24 times multi-platinum certification, making it the fifth-highest of all albums. It’s sold 37 million copies worldwide.
But beyond their albums, the band’s singles have served them well too. One track in particular has brought in a pretty penny as the group’s best-selling song and their best known too. It’s proof that it pays well to make a timeless rock anthem as the profits will still be flowing in today and likely for decades to come.
So, what is their best-selling song?
Plenty of their tracks have sold well. ‘Kashmir’, a song that Robert Plant called “a great achievement” and loves as one of his personal favourites from their discography, is one of Led Zeppelin’s top songs and has earned them a total revenue of $1,421,130.32. It’s worth bearing in mind that for all these stats, this number is only the running total so far as the band gets countless streams each day, and more and more new fans buy their music, keeping that cash coming in and the running profits going up.
‘Immigrant Song’ has proved to be another big pay day for the band with a revenue of $1,306,140.94. It’s a surprising one as even though the song is incredibly popular, it sat on Led Zeppelin III, which was the group’s least commercially successful record.
But as expected, the track that comes out on top as their best-selling song is ‘Stairway To Heaven’. When people think about rock music in general, this iconic riff instantly floats into minds as one of the most defining and beloved tracks of the whole genre. Altogether, it’s made the band $2,903,223.42 so far, with that number still climbing as its popularity endures.
Interestingly, though, ‘Stairway’ was never released as a single. It’s not a typically hooky song as it builds slowly to the climax, so the band didn’t think it would work as a lead single back in 1971. They did, however, really believe in the power of the song, with Page claiming, “We were careful to never release it as a single”, as they kept it solely on the record to boost sales of the full album. But even still, it took a while for the public to warm up to the song, but since 1973, it’s been heralded not only as one of the best Led Zeppelin songs but as one of the best rock songs of all time.
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