By Justice Allen
- Warner Music Group recently paid for $85M for IMGN Media
- 85% of IMGN’s audience are Gen-Z or young millennials
We’ve all seen that one meme which actually made us laugh out loud, but in 2020 the meme accounts are having the heartiest laugh of all. Warner Music Group just dropped a massive $85 million bag on IMGN, a media brand that primarily serves teen users with its network of social accounts. But IMGN’s biggest brand by far (and the one that Warner Music Group has its eye on) is the wildly popular meme account Daquan, home to over 15 million followers. Let’s explain exactly why a record label would want in on a meme account.
Why This Matters: Memes have always served as the gateway to contemporary pop culture, especially when it comes to young consumers. Daquan, an Instagram account followed by Drake, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, and 15m+ others. An anonymous high schooler started it in 2014, then built it into a media empire, according to the Observer. Accounts like these dictate change, waves, trends, and corporate America is becoming hip to that reality.
The wildly popular meme account Daquan, home to over 15 million followers
Corporate brands like WMG aren’t just hopping on the bandwagon for the sake of optics, meme accounts can drive real numbers. An executive at Alamo records recently highlighted that a strategically placed meme can increase streaming numbers between 122% and 600%.
What’s Next: Young Black creators have always existed at the epicenter of innovation when it comes to pop culture and youth trends. The beautiful thing about the recent WMG deal is that we are moving in a direction that will allow these creators to be fairly compensated for their contributions. Will we see a rise in meme accounts in the years to come? We can only hope so. After all, most of us could use a good hearty laugh these days.
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