# The Chipmunks: Ross Bagdasarian Jr. & Janice Karman (2017)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2018-12-24
- Length: 58m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017

## Summary

Ross Bagdasarian Jr. and Janice Karman, the husband-and-wife team behind the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, explain how they revived their father's 1950s creation into a billion-dollar media empire. They detail their early struggles with rejection from major studios, the pivotal success of the 'Chipmunk Punk' album, and the technical process of recording voices by speeding up tape. The episode also covers their business battles, including a costly syndication mistake with Viacom, a failed partnership with Universal, and a lawsuit against Fox over the movie franchise's economics.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=0) Introduction: The Chipmunks Franchise
- [4:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=277) Ross Sr.'s Legacy and Ross Jr.'s Law School
- [12:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=744) Pitching the Revival and Early Rejections
- [16:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=989) The 'Chipmunk Punk' Breakthrough
- [19:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=1154) Voice Acting and Animation Production
- [33:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=2020) The Syndication Mistake and Universal Deal
- [44:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=2661) Lawsuits, Fox Movies, and Business Lessons
- [55:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017#t=3304) Postscript: Alex Van Dewark and the MixMat

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Alvin and the Chipmunks (product)
- Chipmunk Punk (product)
- Urban Chipmunk (product)
- Viacom (company)
- Universal (company)
- Fox (company)
- NBC (company)
- CBS (company)
- Motown (company)
- Liberty Records (company)
- Home Depot (company)
- MixMat (product)
- Up LLC (company)
- Bright Light (company)

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- [Ep. 26 | Microchip's Steve Sanghi on How to Bring a Company from Debt to Billions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2021-06-08-ep-26-microchips-steve-sanghi-on-how-to-bring-a-company-from-debt-to-billions) (Moore's Lobby)
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## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-12-24-the-chipmunks-ross-bagdasarian-jr-janice-karman-2017. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.