Beyond Baby Shark: creator of viral hit eyes China with dinosaurs

Samsung Publishing

15/11/2019 24:30

By Ju-min Park
    SEOUL, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The creator of the children's song
"Baby Shark," which has become a global phenomenon, says the
firm is eyeing the Chinese market, where the tune did not quite
catch on, with a brand new character featuring dinosaurs.
    The popular song about a family of sharks has been a 
rallying cry at Lebanese anti-government protests, played at the
White House and praised by President Donald Trump and become the
unofficial anthem of the baseball World Series champions
Washington Nationals. It has also prompted parodies and a dance
craze.
    The co-founder and the chief financial officer of the South
Korean publisher behind the viral song and video, the fifth-most
viewed of all time, said it is targeting China next to make sure
that it doesn't end a one-hit wonder.
    "Who would have thought sharks could become this popular?"
Ryan Lee of SmartStudy told Reuters in an interview. "Children
who like dinosaurs definitely exist around the world, but
there's no brand name attached to them."   
    The Baby Shark song, which has had 3.9 billion views on
Youtube, is a under copyright to SmartStudy, a South Korean
company that is planning an IPO. 
    Lee said the company sees the song to Baby Shark as 
"evergreen content". It is planning a Baby Shark-themed animated
TV series with the Nickelodeon television network.
    For Asia's fourth largest but maturing economy, the
so-called "kids industry" has been a bright spot with a
five-fold growth to 40 trillion won ($34.3 billion) in revenue
in 2017 from 2002, according to eBEST Investment & Securities,
even though its birth rate is one of the lowest in the world.
    SmartStudy sees the limitation of the domestic market and is
eyeing China, where the absence of YouTube, and the clunky local
word for shark, did little for Baby Shark's appeal.
    Dinosaurs, on the other hand, will be a different story, Lee
said, citing China's active research into the reptiles as a sign
of great interest. 
    "China is not an easy market, but there's no market more
attractive other than China. More than a billion people speaking
a single language and this is a country that evolved into a
market from a factory."
    SmartStudy eventually plans an initial public offering, the
company said, hoping to capitalise on its 2019 sales projected
at more than 60 billion won, eight times the figure five years
ago.
    Backed by Baby Shark's popularity, shares of Samsung
Publishing  068290.KS , SmartStudy's second-top shareholder,
have jumped 60% this year, versus the wider market's  .KS11  4%
rise.

 (Reporting by Ju-min Park; additional reporting by Hayoung
Choi; Editing by Jack Kim; Raju Gopalakrishnan)
 ((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5650; Reuters
Messaging: ju-min.park.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))