Rebecca Black's 'Friday' is bringing in the dough

Rebecca Black's 'Friday' is bringing in the dough

Categories: Guilty Pleasure, Horrifying But Hypnotic, My Head Hurts, Ouch! That Was My Ear!, Things That Make Me Die Inside

Rebecca-Black

Are you sitting down? Good, because I’ve got some shocking news. According to Forbes, “Friday” — the insipid but catchy tune created by Ark Music Factory and performed by shiny-haired 13-year-old Rebecca Black — is pulling in some serious bank.

As of a few seconds ago, Black’s video has some 33.5 million views on YouTube. According to Forbes, that site earns around $1 per thousand page views, and when videos run ads as part of YouTube’s revenue sharing program, the revenue generated is split between YouTube and the content creator — in this case, Ark Music Factory and its star performer. Since content creators get 68 percent of the earnings, the video itself has made Ark and Black $20,000 already. More importantly, hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded “Friday” — as of a few seconds ago, the song is sitting pretty at #33 on iTunes’ Top 100 Singles chart. (And when Forbes‘ post was written last night, “Friday” was #45, meaning it’s only getting more popular.) The iTunes store gives music makers $.70 per download in the U.S., which definitely adds up when download numbers are this high.

Some might sniff that money is small comfort when one has become a national laughingstock at the tender age of 13. To them, I say only this: Enjoy scooping ice cream or folding chinos all summer! What does this news make you want to do, PopWatchers — laugh? Cry? Give Ark Music Factory a call and see if they’re looking for new talent?