Baby Shark Dance, the most-viewed video on YouTube, has generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the company behind it despite being in the children’s category.
With more than 16.4 billion views as of November 18, Baby Shark Dance by Korean company Pinkfong maintained its number one position, far surpassing Luis Fonsi’s Despacito, which came in second with 8.86 billion views. According to WSJ calculations, the video has been played an average of more than 4.7 million times a day since it was uploaded in 2016. The song is available in 25 languages, with the US having the most views and Brazil the most likes.
However, the popularity of Baby Shark Dance has not translated into huge fortunes for Pinkfong, a subsidiary of SmartStudy. Last year, the company had a revenue of $67 million, including income from YouTube. They don’t disclose revenue from the “shark family” song alone, but the amount earned from this video is not as much as the top songs for adults.
In fact, YouTube doesn’t disclose the revenue of individual videos either. But according to Lawyer-monthly, Baby Shark Dance earned a total of $22 million as of 2023. Meanwhile, according to BonusInsider, the video brings in about $283,000 per month, or more than $3 million a year, but “from multiple sources” rather than just from YouTube.
This information is of interest as Pinkfong officially went public today on the Korean Kosdaq exchange.
Video Baby Shark Dance. Photo: Pinkfong/YouTube
Meanwhile, by the end of 2024, Luis Fonsi’s Despacito with 8.86 billion views is estimated by Digital Music News to have generated between $20-25 million in revenue from YouTube advertising alone. The video peaked in 2017 with an estimated $5-9 million in that year alone.
Another video, Wiz Khalifa’s See You Again, is also a big non-kids content with 6.84 billion views. Social Blade estimates the video will generate $12-15 million in revenue by the end of 2023, while Post-Gazette puts it higher at $20 million, but notes that YouTube advertising prices in 2015-2016, when the video was released, were much lower than they are today.
Meanwhile, according to Forbes, videos like Baby Shark Dance are subject to stricter YouTube regulations because they are “Made for Kids” content. In 2020, after settling a lawsuit with the US Federal Trade Commission over compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, YouTube introduced a series of new regulations, including banning personalized ads and disabling comments and notifications. This caused a serious decline in profits for videos from children’s content creators.
The 10 most viewed videos on YouTube, half of which are children’s content. Source: YouTube
According to estimates by expert Garrett Johnson of Boston University, without the above restrictions, Baby Shark Dance could generate two or three times the direct revenue that it currently generates for Pinkfong.
However, the success of the Baby Shark Dance has also allowed Pinkfong to capitalize on it and seek outside revenue. In addition to video advertising, the “Baby Shark” brand has expanded into an empire of merchandise, live tours, and even a TV series. From toys, clothing, to interactive apps, Pinkfong has leveraged the song’s popularity to turn “Baby Shark” into a multimedia brand aimed at children and families.
Admin (by WSJ, Lawyer-monthly)
