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The Wiggles Named Australia's Wealthiest
SYDNEY, Australia - The Wiggles have sung and danced their way to the top of a list of Australia's wealthiest entertainers, edging out Hollywood heavyweights such as Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe.
The four Australian performers topped BRW Magazine's list of Australia's 50 richest performers in 2004 with an estimated gross income of $34.5 million, up from $10.7 million in the previous year.
Kidman almost doubled her earnings and was Australia's second richest performer with $30 million, according to the magazine, which hit newsstands Thursday. She was followed by Crowe, who earned an estimated $20 million in 2004.
BRW managing editor Tony Featherstone said in an editorial that The Wiggles had topped the chart, which is based on the magazine's estimates of their 2004 gross income, thanks to a great product and marketing.
"They got into the market early, they took time to understand their audience, not only children but the parents who pay for everything," he said.
AC/DC were in fourth place, with an estimated income of $14 million.
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A parent's comment, by me:
Five years ago, when the Wiggles were virtually unknown in North America, my wife could just call up their Sydney office and chat with people there. She was friends with Anthony Field's oldest brother and knew the webmaster quite well. Anthony "Wiggle" Field and Greg "Wiggle" Page even spoke with us on the night of September 11, 2001 to offer sympathy about the terrorist attacks.
The Wiggles were a big part of our lives due to my son's obsession with them and the fact that he could sing all the songs and do all the dances and act out all the skits even before he could talk to other people properly. For parents with a son with neurological difficulties, The Wiggles and a few other pre-school shows like Blues Clues were incredibly important.
But no one knew who The Wiggles were in the U.S. then and people thought Connor was just being an autistic weirdo when he'd perform all their songs on the playground and try to get kids to play with him. And all the stuff he took to school with him - backpacks, drink cups, shirts, hats, etc, had to all be imported from Australia.
Nowadays, the group is huge and Disney-fied, you can buy merchandise at just about any store, and if Lisa called over to Sydney, she would just be one more American mother trying to contact the Elvises of Kids Music. And Connor is almost 8 and has left all the little-kid stuff behind him.
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