Warner Music Group announced last month that it bought IMGN Media, a company known for making memes and viral videos on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. With 85 percent of IMGN's being young millennials and Gen Z, the roughly $85 million acquisition continues WMG's attempt to further understand the viewing habits of teenage audiences and reduce reliance on individual influencers.
However, the recent deal has brought attention to the company's most popular channel, Daquan, which has over 15 million Instagram followers. As news of the acquisition spread, people have been reminded (or learning for the first time) that the owner of the Daquan account isn't Black but is IMGN's co-founder and CEO Barak Shragai. A 2018 story from The Daily Beast revealed that IMGN bought the page from an Ethiopian and Canadian teenager in 2016.
While some have found humor in the revelation, others believe the news points to a much larger issue regarding race. One Instagram user posted the news and referred to it as "digital blackface."
"You mfs online f****** love to cosplay as Black people," the Instagram user wrote. "This sh** is sick as hell man... He bought the account from a Canadian Black teenager in 2016 and never changed the pages name or profile picture bc he didn't want anyone to know the account changed hands #digitalblackface."
According to the company's website, IMGN's channels share over 40 million subscribers/followers and are viewed more than 3 billion times every month.
Source: Music Business Worldwide
