Ross Bagdasarian Jr.
Co-Owner & CEO, Bagdasarian Productions. On 1 show, 2 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
entertainerexecutiveoperatoralvinandthechipmunks.com ↗Wikipedia ↗
Ross Bagdasarian Jr. manages Bagdasarian Productions alongside his wife, Janice Karman, preserving and expanding the global Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise created by his late father. He resurrected the brand in the late 1970s and has voiced lead characters Alvin, Simon, and Dave Seville across albums, television, and motion pictures.
1shows
2appearances
31statements
14resolved
12supported
1contradicted
86%fully supported
1said about them ↓ Everything Ross Bagdasarian Jr. said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Bagdasarian: There are no real experts and nobody truly knows what works
“What we came to realize is that there actually are no experts. You know, nobody really knows, and so I was just willing to put my belief above what other people were telling us, and Janice felt the same way.”
Bagdasarian: Berry Gordy founded Motown to own masters like Bagdasarian Sr.
“When we met Barry Gordy years later, he said, you know, I learned a very valuable thing. When I was writing songs, I decided to found Motown because I wanted to own the master recordings the way your dad did.”
Bagdasarian Jr.: Chipmunks Villain Was Inspired by a Real Record Executive
“This is a quote, and it's, it, so it explains why David Cross is, as Ian is, is that character. So the record executive tells Janice and me, well we're not actually going to do the national release and the big marketing. I said, well, wait, I said, you told us…”
Bagdasarian Productions earns just two cents per Chipmunks DVD sold
“So unfortunately Fox will send you the thank you card because we get about two cents per DVD.”
Bagdasarian Jr.: There are no true experts in the entertainment industry
“What we came to realize is that there actually are no experts. You know, nobody really knows, and so I was just willing to put my belief above what other people were telling us”
Bagdasarian: Creators struggle to maintain ownership without legal self-defense
“There's creating what you do, and then there's continuing to own what you do, and those are tough things to Do at both times unless you know how to protect yourself and contracts and so forth.”
Bagdasarian Sr. was first songwriter to own publishing and master recordings
“Well, you know, because my dad had not only, as you mentioned, set that up, he was the first songwriter who not only owned the publishing but also The master recordings.”
Bagdasarian Jr.: Creators must understand legal contracts to maintain ownership
“There's creating what you do, and then there's continuing to own what you do, and those are tough things to do at both times unless you know how to protect yourself and contracts and so forth.”
Ross Bagdasarian Sr. was the first songwriter to own masters and publishing
“He was the first songwriter who not only owned the publishing but also The master recordings.”
Bagdasarian Productions sold Chipmunks TV syndication rights for $25 million
“And then a couple years later, we sold those rights for twenty-five million dollars.”
Bagdasarian Productions receives only two cents in royalties per Chipmunks DVD sold
“So unfortunately Fox will send you the thank you card because we get about two cents per DVD.”
Bagdasarian: Hired legendary Warner Bros. animators for A Chipmunk Christmas
“Some of the great animators from Warner Brothers including Chuck Jones, and Phil Monroe, and Virgil Ross, and these guys who had done the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoons in the forties and fifties were available, and they weren't being used, and Janice and I hire…”
The 1980s Chipmunks cartoon captured a 40% TV audience share
“Back in those days, Guy, we were getting like, 40% of the audience was watching.”
Bagdasarian: Sold Chipmunks syndication rights for $25 million
“And then a couple of years later, we sold those rights for twenty five million dollars.”
Bagdasarian Jr.: Universal acquired a 25% stake in Alvin and the Chipmunks
“They bought a 25% share at that point in time, and that for the opportunity for what felt like a really exciting opportunity to grow the business in a much larger way, felt like a great thing.”
Bagdasarian: Paid Universal $2.5 million to buy back Chipmunks stake
“Two and a half million dollars for their-”
The Chipmunks film franchise generated over $2 billion including DVD sales
“And if you include the DVD sales, it's over two billion dollars in revenue.”
Bagdasarian and Karman hired legendary Looney Tunes animators for Christmas special
“Some of the great animators from Warner Brothers including Chuck Jones, and Phil Monroe, and Virgil Ross, and these guys who had done the greatest Bugs Bunny cartoons in the forties and fifties were available, and they weren't being used, and Janice and I hire…”
NBC paid $210,000 per half-hour episode for the 1980s Chipmunks series
“Back in those days, it was like 210,000 dollars for a half hour of shows.”
The 1980s Chipmunks animated series captured approximately 40% of television audiences
“Back in those days, Guy, we were getting like 40% of the audience was watching.”
NBC received zero revenue share from the $25 million Chipmunks syndication deal
“No, not at, NBC didn't get a piece at all.”
Bagdasarian Jr. invested the $25 million syndication windfall into a feature film
“We took most of that money and made an animated feature, The Chipmunk Adventure, and that, which came out in 87.”
Bagdasarian Jr. and Karman bought back Universal's Chipmunks stake for $2.5 million
“Two and a half million dollars for their-”
The 2007 Chipmunks film villain was based on a real record executive
“In any event, we're all excited and want to now talk about the national plans that they're going to do, and this is a quote, and it's, it, so it explains why David Cross is, as Ian is, is that character. So the record executive, the tells Janice and me, well w…”
The other half of the tape: Ross Bagdasarian Jr.'s own voice is left out of every number here. 1 statement on the record names them. every mention, with the transcript →
Statements about Ross Bagdasarian Jr., by other people (1)
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Ross's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Co-Owner & CEO, Bagdasarian Productions | 2 | 31 | 86% 12/14 | full record on How I Built This → |