“Baby Shark” Continues To Be An Unexpected Money-Making Global Hit
Released in 2015, no one could have predicted the stratospheric rise of the wildly infectious song “Baby Shark”, not even the co-founder of Pinkfong, Kim Min-seok.
In 2010, Kim Min-seok co-founded SmartStudy Co., the parent company of Pinkfong, its children’s educational brand. Just a short five years later, Pinkfong released “Baby Shark” and the rest, as they say, is history.
Kim Min-seok’s father operates Samsung Publishing Co., which also owns part of his startup. Thanks in large part to the success of “Baby Shark”, the two companies are now worth roughly $125,000,000 USD. And, because of the use of the song by Washington Nationals outfielder Gerardo Parra, who played it as his walk-up music during the World Series, Samsung Publishing’s shares soared up to 89% the week the World Series began as crowds began to singalong and even dressed in costume to games.
“Baby Shark” has a live concert experience geared toward children called Baby Shark Live! and its video on YouTube exceeds three billion views, even managing to rank on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song’s reach extends beyond Asia and North America, in Lebanon, protestors sang “Baby Shark” in an attempt to soothe a frightened child.
Whether you love or hate “Baby Shark”, it is impossible to deny is the increased wealth it bought the family who created it and the impact it has had in popular culture.
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