Music

NAUGHTY: The rise of Ark Music Factory

by Aaron Zorgel

In our annual festive Naughty and Nice feature, AUX compiles the best and worst of the year in music.

Do you remember where you were the first time you heard “Friday” by Rebecca Black? Was it like 9/11, or like when you found out Michael Jackson died? Did you start hyperventilating, texting your loved ones, and asking yourself, “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?” Look no further, the perpetrators are known as Ark Music Factory, and they’re the production company/record label/evil entity behind Rebecca Black and many other instant tween popstars who made their way onto YouTube this year.

With a tagline that reads “Get Discovered!,” Ark Music Factory positions itself as an “online platform that helps young artists achieve their dreams, and realize their talent,” offering music composition, branding, video production, and all the services required to transform a young talent into a popstar. This positioning must have been convincing to parents, because Rebecca Black’s mother paid the company $4000 to write and produce “Friday,” a song that had over 160 million views on Youtube, before being pulled due to copyright disputes. Despite legal disputes between the family and Ark, the single has reportedly made Rebecca Black very wealthy, peaking at #58 on the Billboard Hot 100, and selling over 40,000 copies in its first week.

Despite viral and commercial success, the song was critically panned, and many called it the worst song ever written. Rebecca received death threats, and was forced to drop out of school as a result of her sudden fame. Rebecca Black has since parted ways with Ark Music Factory, and the company forges on with new recruits like Alana Lee, and Lexi St. George. The crux of the naughty nature Ark Music Factory can be found in its namesake – Ark Music Factory. This implies that the company is equipped to crank out instant popstars in mass quantities in the most standardized and efficient way possible. With autotune, and a decent video camera, any child can be exploited for gain. No company exemplified this frightening reality better in 2011, than Ark Music Factory.

Return to the Naughty and Nice master list.