Ben Lashes

Ben Lashes (born Benjamin Clark ) is an internet phenomena manager . His clients are mainly cats, e.g. B. Keyboard Cat , Nyan Cat and Grumpy Cat , as well as Scumbag Steve and Ridiculously Photogenic Guy . Lashes describes his corporate strategy with the words What would Walt Disney do if he had created Mickey Mouse and it had gone viral on Youtube .

career

Lashes worked as the singer of the musical group The Lashes , which was released by Lookout! Records and Columbia Records . Later he switched to activities in supporting artists and repertoire as well as marketing. Lashes derived his artist last name from the name of the band.

Charlie Schmidt, the Keyboard Cat owner who was friends with Lashes father, contacted Lashes in 2010 after his original video of his cat became very popular on Youtube. Lashes advised him to make new videos with a new cat, designed merchandising products, and arranged first paid gigs. Schmidt was engaged in television commercials for Wonderful Pistachios , Nokia and Starburst as a result of Lashes activity . According to his own statements, Schmidt's earnings amount to over USD 300,000.

Lashes took over the marketing of the Nyan Cat and subsequently involved in the marketing of Rebecca Black and her song Friday . Lashes' other clients include Scumbag Steve, Success Kid and Ridiculously Photogenic Guy.

In October 2012, shortly after her debut, Lashes took over marketing of the Grumpy Cat . Princess Monster Truck is also one of his clients. According to his clients, the expenses charged by Lashes amount to around 20% of the income.

In May 2013, Torres and Schmidt jointly sued 5th Cell and Warner Bros. for copyright and trademark infringement due to the unauthorized appearance of the Keyboard Cat and the Nyan Cat in the Scribblenauts video game series. Torres and Schmidt have applied for a Registered Trade Mark on their characters. The lawsuit was closed in September 2013 through a settlement under which the defendants Torres and Schmidt paid for the use of the characters.

Clients

client	Creator	date	Yield
Chuck Testa
Grumpy Cat	Tabatha and Bryan Bundesen	October 2012	"low six-digit range"
Keyboard Cat	Charlie Schmidt	2010	$ 300,000
Nyan Cat	Christopher Torres
Princess Monster Truck
Ridiculously Photogenic Guy	Zeddie Little
Scumbag Steve	Blake Boston	2011
Success kid

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Katherine Rosman: Grumpy Cat Has an Agent, and Now a Movie Deal . Online.wsj.com. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Behind Every Great Meme There's a Marketing Whiz: Grumpy Cat's Agent - The Culture Files Blog - Los Angeles magazine . Lamag.com. July 25, 2013. Archived from the original on September 2, 2013. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 9, 2013. 
3. ↑ Tom Sykes: Lil Bub, The World's Cutest Cat, Stars In Documentary Lil Bub & Friendz at Tribeca . The Daily Beast. April 19, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Kate Knibbs: Meet Ben Lashes, meme manager to the Internet's stars . Digital trends. August 9, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Christine Erickson: Meme Management: Meet the Man Who Reps Internet Stars . Mashable.com. April 17, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
6. ^ ^{A b c} Tom Sykes: Ben Lashes, Meme Manager for Internet Celebrities . The Daily Beast. August 25, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} Katie Van Syckle: Boom Brands 2013 - Grumpy Cat - New York Magazine . Nymag.com. September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
8. ↑ Nyan Cat and keyboard cat creators sue Warner Bros . BBC News. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
9. ^ Adi Robertson: Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat creators sue 'Scribblenauts' studio for using their memes . The Verge. February 12, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
10. ↑ Katie Van Syckle: Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat Come Out Ahead in Lawsuit Against Warner Bros. . Nymag.com. September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.