Taylor Swift Overtaken in Streaming — You Won’t Believe Who’s on Top Now
Moonbug Entertainment is partnering with Sanrio on a major ‘CoComelon‘-‘Hello Kitty‘ collaboration launching next year, Kevin Mayer announced Wednesday at the APOS “Future of Storytelling” session.
“We are doing a big ‘CoComelon’ collaboration with Sanrio’s ‘Hello Kitty,’ starting next year,” revealed Mayer, founder and co-CEO of Candle Media, Moonbug’s parent company. “I think this will be a very, very joyous moment for kids and teens around the world, who both love ‘CoComelon’ and love ‘Hello Kitty.’”
The multi-year deal will encompass co-branded content and consumer products initiatives. A new crossover series will bring together “Hello Kitty,” “Cinnamoroll” and other Sanrio favorites with “CoComelon’s “JJ” and friends, with a 2026 debut planned. Moonbug will handle worldwide distribution for the series.
The announcement came as Mayer shared another striking statistic: Moonbug’s music streams across all platforms last year surpassed Taylor Swift‘s total. “Last year across Moonbug, we had more music listens, more music streams across all platforms, than Taylor Swift did,” he said. “So kids are listening, and their parents are listening to our music.”
The impressive figures underscore the reach of Moonbug’s crown jewel, “CoComelon,” which has grown from 60 million YouTube subscribers when Candle acquired it five years ago to 200 million today. In January alone, “CoComelon” and Moonbug’s other properties generated 10 billion views.
Speaking with moderator Vivek Couto, executive director and co-founder, Media Partners Asia, which organizes APOS, Mayer detailed how “CoComelon’s recent migration from Netflix to Disney+ reflects his multi-platform strategy rather than broader industry shifts. The property, originally developed by a South Korean couple in Los Angeles, started as YouTube content before expanding to traditional streaming.
