ARK Music Factory
Ark Music Factory was a musical composition and production company based in Los Angeles, California. The company was co-founded in 2010 by Patrice Wilson, who partnered with producer/composer and multi-instrumentalist Clarence Jey.
In May 2011, Jey left Ark Music Factory to focus on his own production company Music Intersection. Later in 2011, Wilson established a successor record label, Pato Music World, as a sole proprietorship.
History
Patrice Wilson co-founded Ark Music Factory in 2010; Wilson was also the CEO of the company.Ark's business centered on the recruitment/discovery of new young singers. The artists paid a $2,000 to $4,000 fee to Ark, and Ark then wrote and produced music in collaboration with the artists, often producing music videos and promotion of the songs. The singer owned the master recording, while Ark retained the publishing rights to the songs and all the sales from the song.
They stated that their main objectives were to bring aspiring acts to the musical fore: "We at Ark make it possible for an emerging artist to be discovered, defined and delivered, to advance in their chosen career and be successful." Ark was predominantly based in the US, although they claimed that artists they had supported have had success in different regions across the globe.
Ark's Facebook page claimed to be creating a community where artists from all fields can come together to build connections and interact. Wilson also rebuffed claims of exploitation, claiming that the company provided a relatively inexpensive entry into the pop market for artists:
"I'm getting a lot of criticism saying I'm exploiting rich kids and their parents," says Wilson, "but find me another company that would do all this at a cost this low. I don't promise anyone fame. In fact, if someone approaches me with their only goal to ‘get famous,' I tell them they're not in this for the right reasons."
The staff of Ark Music Factory included Patrice Wilson who was the founder of the company, CEO and Sri Lankan / Australian record producer, songwriter and co-founder and producer, Clarence Jey. At Ark, Jey wrote the music and Wilson wrote the lyrics. Ian Hotchkiss and Chris Lowe were the video directors.
Rebecca Black controversy
In March 2011, Ark gained notoriety through a viral video when one of their songs, Rebecca Black's "Friday" unexpectedly became an Internet meme. According to the British newspaper The Independent, Black trended high on Twitter, after the release. The original video gained 167 million views until June 2011 when it was removed from YouTube due to copyright claims from Black's family. It was reinstated in September 2011 on Black's personal YouTube channel and has been viewed over 178 million times as of January 2026.Wilson posted two music responses about "Friday" and the controversy it created. The first was posted on March 13, 2011, entitled "Friday " written and produced by Wilson and Jey, the second on April 4, 2011, entitled "Say What You Wanna Say" written by Wilson and Kustom. Both songs addressed some of the most common grievances against the song and the way Ark runs its business. Both these postings received negative attention as well.