Kids Rule

Early indicators show 2006 could well be a lucrative year for the kids market. The record charts were recently dominated by children’s albums, The Wiggles are poised for a major venue tour and even Barbie is getting into the mix.

The famed doll has nearly 100 shows on the books between now and November in 1,500- to 3,000-capacity theatres. The musical – “Barbie Live in Fairytopia” – is promoted by the theatrical division of Live Nation and Mattel. The lead role went to a Kent State University musical theatre grad, Erin Elizabeth Coors.

Barbie will take on the role of “a beautiful flower fairy who longs to have wings.” She tries to save her fairy land and meets new people along the way, with singing and dancing along the way. The production implements about 100 pounds of glitter.

The tour comes at a critical moment for the Mattel Corp. For the first time in nearly 50 years, Barbie is not the belle of the ball – at least not overseas Following downturns in 2003 and 2004, sales of the doll fell 13 percent in the U.K. last year, according to England’s Telegraph.

In Barbie’s place are some young upstart fashion dolls with street cred: the ubiquitous Bratz, which were introduced by MGA Entertainment in 2001.

“We expected 2005 to be a challenging year and it was, as we continued to experience sales decline in the Barbie brand,” Mattel chairman Bob Eckert reportedly said. Eckert added that 2006 would require “turning the tide.”

Meanwhile, the top three albums on a recent Nielsen SoundScan albums chart were geared toward children. The soundtrack for “High School Musical” had the top spot, Kidz Bop Volume 9 had second place and in third – granted, the “children’s music” category is debatable – Jack Johnson‘s soundtrack for the “Curious George” movie.

Obviously, more record companies are taking an active and successful role in marketing children’s music. It will be interesting to see if this trend builds as summer draws near.