Ryan’s World: How a kid in Hawaii became a YouTube millionaire

It’s a typical Sunday afternoon for the Kaji family in Honolulu, Hawaii. They’re playing a game, recording it on mom’s phone, having fun. But what’s not typical is that when they’re done, they’ll send the video to a production team in Houston, which will edit and package it as part of a multimillion-dollar children’s entertainment empire known as ” Ryan’s World “. “Your YouTube content receives billions of views a month.

They also have a Nickelodeon TV show, “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,” and of course the licensed toys: so many toys! – All of this, according to some estimates, generates more than $ 25 million a year, making Kajis one of YouTube’s most lucrative.

And it all started, more or less by chance, when Ryan was only three years old. “When I first uploaded the video, I didn’t think about it,” said Loann Kaji, Ryan’s mother. “And I tried to share it with my friends and family, because, you know, we both have a lot of family outside the United States.”

But today, this video of Ryan playing with toys, intended for relatives, has more than 52 million views:

Correspondent Luke Burbank asked Ryan’s father, Shion, “Did you have any theories as to why these videos you were making were so popular?”

“I think authenticity is definitely the number one factor,” he replied, “probably mostly because we’re filming at home and we don’t have a script, line by line.”

In a short time, Shion and Loann quit their jobs to start a family YouTube business, which eventually led them to Kerry Tucker, director of marketing for Pocket Watch, a kind of old-school Hollywood studio system for to a very new school. of content.

“We take the biggest YouTube child stars in the world and turn them into global franchises,” Tucker said. “This generation, this Alpha Generation, only knows one world with YouTube and mobile devices. Our way of thinking is that Pocket Watch wants to be where the kids are.”

Tucker has helped inflate the Kajis brand, literally, from Macy’s Day Parade to toy aisles everywhere.

You might think that a child with their own line of toys and more daily viewers than most TV channels might let go of in their head. But it turns out Ryan is just like many other 10-year-olds. He mostly wanted to talk about the video games he likes.

Burbank asked, “So you’re a big guy, like Roblox, a Minecraft guy?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any advice for me as a broadcaster on how I can get more people to see the things I’m doing?”

“I guess … hmmm, I think you should keep doing it and wait,” Ryan replied. “And eventually it might explode. I mean, YouTube is kind of lucky.”

“Partially lucky? What do you mean?”

“Because people, like now, have to find your videos. And then you get to the recommendations and stuff of a lot of people,” he said.

Burbank asked, “Would you mind recommending my show in one of your videos, trying to help us?”

“Maybe. What’s it called?”

“It’s called ‘CBS Sunday Morning.’ Can you incorporate it into one of your videos?”

“May be!” said Ryan.

“Well thanks!”

For more information:

• ryans.món
• Ryan’s World (YouTube channel)
• Pocket watch

Story produced by John Goodwin. Editor: Ben McCormick.