Infant Industry: The Wiggles Industrial Complex
From band to brand, these Australians mean business.
by Greg Allen
February 14, 2007
The driving force behind the show's evolution is not just creative, but strategic: to turn the show into a platform for other businesses within Wiggles, Ltd. Now the group is expanding its global reach through sing-alike franchises in Taiwan, Latin America, India, and soon, China. The Wiggles' latest objective — transforming four buddies in turtlenecks into a portfolio of characters and properties capable of sustaining an international brand — will be tested by yellow Wiggle Greg Page's recent retirement. Will fans accept Sam as the new yellow Wiggle? Will the band translate to East Asia? And exactly how high are the stakes?
It's been widely reported that the Wiggles are Australia's highest-paid performers since 2004, bringing home $45-50 million per year in Australian dollars. That translates to $34 million U.S., 70% of which ($23 million) is reported to come from the U.S. If concert promoters take $5 million, just over half the box office, that means the remaining $18 million comes from royalties on licensed merchandise and toys, DVD and CD sales and TV distribution fees. Good sales didn't necessarily mean windfall profits.
And yet only two of the Wiggles' albums have charted in the U.S. In 2003, "Yummy Yummy" was #21 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart for debut acts; it graduated to #17 on the Independent Albums chart for 2004. And good sales didn't necessarily mean windfall profits. The album was launched through a promotion with Dannon, meaning it sold for just $5 (plus a yogurt lid). Other Wiggles titles retail for $10-12, well below the adult music industry's $17 standard. The Wiggles' take: maybe $3-4 million each year on three million unit sales. Licensed products like the Wiggles Musical Guitar could yield a buck apiece for the group. Say they get $100,000 per episode for the TV show (a high guess based on high six-figure cable syndication deals for hit shows like Sex and The City); that might bring in $5 million.
Based on these numbers, it seems that the concerts, and the high-margin merchandise sold there, remain the Wiggles' most important revenue source. In other words, the band still must hit the road to make a living, and to pay off all involved. The Wiggles Touring Pty, Ltd., employs more than 100 people in Australia alone to produce their content and manage their deals. That's a big nut to cover.
With the Wiggles' audience turning over every three-to-five years, the yellow Wiggle shuffle should have little or no impact on the group's success. Soon, it may not even matter if any of the original members stay on, as the band takes its branding to the next level. Mandarin-speaking Wiggles debuted in Taiwan last year. Similar plans are underway for a Japanese and Latin American franchise. Paul Field just announced that two new series featuring locally cast Wiggles would begin in India. The first "coffee-coloured Captain Feathersword" will speak Tamil. (Hindi's next.) In recent interviews, the group emphasizes the mainland Chinese market as the holy Wiggle grail.
Will it work in the long run? There's not much of a precedent for sustained success. The Veggie Tales exploded into a mass market phenomenon in the mid '90s, but by 2001, the company was bankrupt, victim to runaway film-production costs and a debilitating legal battle with its distributor, Lyrick Studios. Similarly, Henson Studios went on a valuation roller coaster after Jim Henson's death. Sold by his heirs for $600 million, it was later broken up, and parts were sold for pennies on the dollar. Disney bought up most of it. Surely the Wiggles can't dominate the international children's market forever. At least, that thought sustains me during the shrill choruses of "Fruit Salad."
©2006 Greg Allen and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Greg Allen's films have screened at MoMA's Documentary Fortnight, and at the DoubleTake, Berlinale, and Palm Springs film festivals. Greg began publishing Daddy Types, the weblog for new dads in early 2004, right before his daughter was born. He lives in New York City and Washington, DC. |
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