Forbes’ back-of-the-envelope accounting went like this. First, it tallied up revenue from all of those millions of YouTube views. YouTube, owned by Google, grants artists 68 percent of the proceeds earned from advertising on the site through its Partner Program. Forbes figured YouTube makes about $1 per 1,000 page views. Thus, “Friday’s” 30 million page views (at the time: It’s now up to 43 million) implied $30,000 in revenue, with a cut of $20,000 or so for Black. Then, it added in the earnings from downloads of the new hit single. Forbes initially reported that the song racked up 2 million purchases on iTunes. If iTunes pays out 70 cents per download, and Black keeps all of the proceeds, it makes her a tween millionaire. But there are a few problems with this accounting. First, the numbers. As for downloads, Billboard reports that “Friday” has sold just 37,000 copies, meaning the song has earned about $26,000. And as for YouTube plays, the number could be lower. Rates depend not just on page views, but also on how many people click on the advertisements. Thus, the song and video have earned perhaps $40,000 and counting—hardly chump change, but hardly $1 million either. Then comes the all-important question of who is benefiting from such frothy pop nonsense. Specifically, how big of a cut is the Ark Music Factory, which wrote the song and made the video, taking? (via Rebecca Black music video: Did she really make $1 million from “Friday”? – By Annie Lowrey – Slate Magazine)