Let's be honest: poop is funny. It's a silly word on its own, regardless of your maturity level; and of course, the social taboo of bodily functions makes them even funnier.
Kids have no shame in acknowledging this universal truth. Which is why so many of them like to tell Alexa to "Play poop" and other such commands. And also, as Buzzfeed reports, how a few search-savvy musicians figured out how to hack the game and profit from the poo:
In 2019, Muir needed to pay some medical bills, and the couple was strapped. Helpish did the digital version of checking the couch cushions: He looked at his statement on Amazon Music — something he rarely did since it was only ever a few dollars. To his shock, his account had several hundred dollars in it — all from plays of "Poopy Stupid Butt."
"I went on all social media and saw it over and over: 'My kid said this to Alexa,'" Helpish said.
For a while, the couple was making around $100 a month from the song — and then COVID hit. Kids were stuck at home with little to do, and frazzled parents became more willing than usual to let their kids be entertained by an electronic device. The streams on Amazon for "Poopy Stupid Butt" skyrocketed: It's now been streamed about 10 million times on Amazon Music and has generated about $10,000 in total income for Helpish and Muir.
Writer Katie Notopoulos speaks with several other poop troubadours as well, including some musicians who publish multilingual poop songs. For many of them, there's a very clear difference between the streams their shit gets on Amazon Music, versus the streams they get on other music platforms.
It's a silly, delightful article, that also highlights some interesting truths about music streaming and SEO.
Kids Yell "Poop" At Alexa, And These Musicians Profit [Katie Notopoulos / Buzzfeed News]
Image: m01229 / Flickr (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
