Who is getting pop smokes money?
With Pop Smoke‘s untimely passing in February 2020 at just 20 years old, the rapper‘s estate now owns and controls the rights to his music and the income it generates. His record label Victor Victor Worldwide, under Republic Records, also maintains commercial control and releases new Pop Smoke music and merch. So in short, the income from Pop Smoke‘s massive success and growing legacy now goes to his family-run estate and label partners.
To understand where Pop Smoke‘s fortune came from requires examining his explosively quick rise from Brooklyn teenager Bashar Barakah Jackson to one of rap‘s most promising new voices. In the span of about a year from the summer of 2019 to early 2020, Pop Smoke went from an unknown to a streaming and social media phenomenon.
Pop Smoke‘s Early Career and Rise to Fame
Pop Smoke first made waves in April 2019 when his breakout song "Welcome to the Party" became a viral hit, garnering over 1 million views on YouTube within just a month. The distinctive deep, gravelly voice of the then-teenage rapper immediately captured attention. By summer 2019, Pop Smoke had signed a record deal with Victor Victor Worldwide under Republic Records after catching the attention of label head Steven Victor.
With major label support, Pop Smoke quickly followed up his initial viral success by releasing his debut mixtape Meet the Woo in July 2019. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, propelled by budding hits like "Dior" and "War." The music videos premiered on YouTube racked up tens of millions of views. Pop Smoke‘s fashion sense and subtle references to his Brooklyn drill rap style also created a distinctive image and brand.
From there, Pop Smoke‘s monthly listeners on Spotify swelled from 200,000 to over 4 million in just 7 months. His Instagram following exploded to over 1 million by December 2019 as he relentlessly previewed new songs online. Pop Smoke amassed fame and wealth at a rate few artists have ever matched.
How Pop Smoke Amassed His Fortune
According to financial estimates, Pop Smoke‘s net worth at the time of his passing in February 2020 totaled around $2 million. Incredibly, the 20-year old artist accumulated those millions in less than a year. How did he earn so much so quickly?
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Music sales: Pop Smoke‘s breakout mixtape Meet the Woo sold over 120,000 album equivalent units. At a $7 royalty per unit, that equates to over $800,000 in revenue. His posthumous album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon sold over 330,000 units in its first week for around $2.3 million in royalties.
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Streaming: By early 2020, Pop Smoke‘s songs had over 1 billion combined streams. At Spotify‘s rate of $0.003-$0.005 per stream, that translates to $3-5 million in revenue in under a year.
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YouTube revenue: The videos for hits like "Welcome to the Party" and "Dior" earned over 200-300 million YouTube views each. At an estimated $2-$4 per 1000 video views, those two videos alone could have brought in $400,000-$1.2 million.
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Concert tours: While Pop Smoke was just getting started on major touring, he was reportedly earning between $40,000-$100,000 per show. With a dozen shows, that still equates to $500,000+ extra income.
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Endorsements: Pop Smoke‘s label connected him with numerous brand sponsorships and endorsement deals, including high-profile companies like BoohooMan and Preme clothing. The amounts of those deals have not been publicly confirmed.
Between music sales, tours, streaming, YouTube, and endorsements, Pop Smoke generated multiple millions in earnings despite his very short career. His social media prowess and marketing helped make him a commercial success story essentially overnight.
Pop Smoke Posthumous Earnings and Legacy
Tragically, Pop Smoke was shot and killed in a home invasion robbery in February 2020, just as his career was hitting a rapid acceleration to stardom. However, in death his fame only grew larger.
Posthumously, Pop Smoke‘s music continued breaking records:
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Monthly listeners shot up 10x from 4 million to over 40 million on Spotify
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Catalog streams doubled from 1 billion to over 2 billion in just 2 months
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His posthumous album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon broke the record for most #1 album debuts after an artist‘s death
| Album | Total Units Sold | Estimated Royalties |
|---|---|---|
| Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon | 2,204,000 | $15 million |
| Faith | 332,000 | $2.3 million |
The massive ongoing popularity of Pop Smoke‘s music after his passing, which only seems to increase with time, has generated tens of millions in revenue for his estate and label just from albums sales and streams.
Further recognizing his earning potential and celebrity appeal, Pop Smoke‘s manager Steven Victor signed a deal with Warner Chappell Music in 2021 for them to globally administer the rapper‘s publishing rights. This ensures Warner Chappell and Pop Smoke‘s family share lucrative sync and licensing revenue as his music gets used in commercials, films, and more.
Pop Smoke‘s meteoric rise perfectly aligned with the power of streaming and virality on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram. His monthly listener count went from 200,000 to 40 million in under a year – growth almost unheard of. While incredibly tragic, his legacy and influence only seem to swell with time as new generations discover his music daily through digital services.
Had Pop Smoke not met his untimely demise at 20, its apparent he was on track to become one of hip hop‘s biggest new stars and highest earners for decades to come. Though robbed of that future success, his estate and label now reap the benefits of his lasting cultural impact. Pop Smoke remains one of the most fascinating case studies of how digital media can transform young talent into success virtually overnight.