Ark Music Factory (formerly Ark Music Production) was a musical composition and production company based in Los Angeles, California. The company was co-founded in 2010 by
Patrice Wilson
Patrice Iteke Wilson is a Nigerian-American record producer, songwriter, and singer. He has also adopted the stage name Pato for some of his performances. He founded ARK Music Factory with Clarence Jey in 2010. While there, he produced songs such ...
,
who partnered with producer/composer and multi-instrumentalist
Clarence Jey
Clarence Ranjith Jeyaretnam, better known as Clarence Jey, is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter of Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamil heritage who has had music chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
.
In May 2011, Jey left Ark Music Factory to focus on his own production company Music Intersection. Later in 2011, Patrice Wilson established his own enterprise, Pato Music World.
History
Patrice Wilson co-founded Ark Music Factory in 2010; Wilson was also the CEO of the company.
Ark's business centered on the recruitment/discovery of new young singers. The artists paid a $2,000 to $4,000 fee to Ark, and Ark then wrote and produced music in collaboration with the artists, often producing music videos and promotion of the songs. The singer owned the
master recording
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
, while Ark retained the
publishing rights A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish original content by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works.
In the case of music p ...
to the songs and all the sales from the song.
They stated that their main objectives were to bring aspiring acts to the musical fore: "We at Ark make it possible for an emerging artist to be discovered, defined and delivered, to advance in their chosen career and be successful." Ark was predominantly based in the US, although they claimed that artists they had supported have had success in different regions across the globe.
Ark's
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
page claimed to be creating a community where artists from all fields can come together to build connections and interact.
Their website also claimed that their dedicated team had industry professionals who have worked with
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...
, the
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida.
The ...
, and
Ashley Tisdale. Wilson also rebuffed claims of exploitation, claiming that the company provided a relatively inexpensive entry into the pop market for artists:
"I'm getting a lot of criticism saying I'm exploiting rich kids and their parents," says Wilson, "but find me another company that would do all this at a cost this low. I don't promise anyone fame. In fact, if someone approaches me with their only goal to ‘get famous,' I tell them they're not in this for the right reasons."
The staff of Ark Music Factory included
Patrice Wilson
Patrice Iteke Wilson is a Nigerian-American record producer, songwriter, and singer. He has also adopted the stage name Pato for some of his performances. He founded ARK Music Factory with Clarence Jey in 2010. While there, he produced songs such ...
(also known with the name Pato
for his various acts) who was the founder of the company,
CEO
and Sri Lankan / Australian record producer, songwriter
and co-founder and producer,
Clarence Jey
Clarence Ranjith Jeyaretnam, better known as Clarence Jey, is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter of Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamil heritage who has had music chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
.
At Ark, Jey wrote the music and Wilson wrote the lyrics.
Ian Hotchkiss and Chris Lowe were the video directors.
Rebecca Black controversy
In March 2011, Ark gained notoriety through a
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
when one of their songs,
Rebecca Black
Rebecca Renee Black (born June 21, 1997) is an American singer and YouTuber. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 single "Friday" went viral on YouTube and other social media sites. "Friday" was derided by many ...
's "
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...
" (which also includes raps by Wilson
) unexpectedly became an
Internet meme. According to the British newspaper ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', Black trended high on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, after the release. The original video gained 167 million views until June 2011 when it was removed from
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
due to copyright claims from Black's family.
It was reinstated in September 2011 on Black's personal YouTube channel and has been viewed over 160 million times as of April 2022.
Wilson posted two music responses about "Friday" and the controversy it created. The first was posted on March 13, 2011, entitled "Friday (Rap Remix)" written and produced by Wilson and Jey, the second on April 4, 2011, entitled "Say What You Wanna Say" written by Wilson and Kustom. Both songs addressed some of the most common grievances against the song and the way Ark runs its business. Both these postings received negative attention as well.
Changes and end
In May 2011,
Clarence Jey
Clarence Ranjith Jeyaretnam, better known as Clarence Jey, is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and songwriter of Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamil heritage who has had music chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
left Ark Music Factory to focus on his own production company Music Intersection. Later in 2011,
Patrice Wilson
Patrice Iteke Wilson is a Nigerian-American record producer, songwriter, and singer. He has also adopted the stage name Pato for some of his performances. He founded ARK Music Factory with Clarence Jey in 2010. While there, he produced songs such ...
, the other cofounder established Pato Music World (PMW) / PMW Live. He signed a number of acts to his new label, some of them from ARK Music Factory signings. The company went on to release a number of new songs including an "official sequel" to Rebecca Black's infamous song "
Friday
Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. In countries that adopt the traditional "Sunday-first" convention, it is the sixth day of the week. In countries adopting the ISO-defined "Monday-first" convention, it is the fifth d ...
". The "sequel" called "Happy" (alternatively "Happy (The Official Sequel to Friday)" or "The H.A.P.P.Y. Song"), features Antoine Dodson and Lela Brown and focuses on Saturdays, with plenty of remarks to Friday and a self-deprecating music video. Previously, Wilson had also written a song called "Tuesday" for
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker whose works include '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'' (2001), ''The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004), and ''The Psychopath Test'' (2011). He has been desc ...
. In November 2012, PMW released "It's Thanksgiving" by Nicole Westbrook, a song written and produced by Patrice Wilson.
Other venues
''One Week to Hit Big: Pop Star''
Wilson and his Ark Music Factory team appeared in ''One Week to Hit It Big: Pop Star'' the ABC (
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
) show ''
Good Morning America'' (GMA) one-week special feature.
[Morgan Zalkin and Cat McKenzie article on ABCNews website: ''One Week to Hit It Big'' - Will a Pop Star Be Made on 'Good Morning America'?](_blank)
/ref> After auditions of tens of candidates, Lexi St. George was chosen for the GMA challenge of trying to make a viral star in one week. She recorded the song "Dancing to the Rhythm" written for the show and made a music video that was broadcast on the program on June 30, 2011. The song was also used for Wowwee's Paper Jamz Pro microphones promotional ads.
''Ark Star''
Ark Music Factory planned another nationwide online talent search with finalists to be chosen from online submissions, the company said in a statement. The contest named "Ark Star" began on July 22, 2011, offering eligible contestants the chance to win their own custom song, music video, and artist promotion by Ark Music Factory.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ark Music Factory
American independent record labels
Record labels established in 2010
Entertainment companies of the United States
2010 establishments in California
2012 disestablishments in California
Record labels disestablished in 2013
Companies based in Los Angeles