Conventional wisdom says children respond better to slower-paced content rather than fast programming. And while most children’s content creators are slowing down their tempo and simplifying their compositions, a small team from Kyrgyzstan is doing exactly the opposite—and they are capturing billions of views in the process!

D Billions has transformed the creator economy’s approach to children’s content by rejecting the fundamental assumption that kids need slow, cautious entertainment. Their method? Treating children as sophisticated consumers capable of processing rich, dynamic content.

“What we have found is that daring to make it more rhythmic and more energetic actually works with kids,” explains Bolotbek Esenov, Head of Commercial Operations at D Billions.

This insight into children’s preference for stimulation over simplicity has propelled this once-obscure content studio to accumulate over 60 million subscribers and 61 billion views across YouTube channels since its establishment in 2019.

Who Is Behind D Billions?

D Billions was founded by Ernist Umetaliev, a well-established music producer from Kyrgyzstan who previously worked with pop artists throughout Central Asia. His musical roots run deep—his mother founded and still leads Ak-Shoola, Kyrgyzstan’s National Children’s Choir, and his grandfather was a composer.

In 2019, in his early days of fatherhood, Umetaliev realized that there wasn’t much content on YouTube he’d want his daughter to watch. He had already been searching for a way to go beyond the local market with his music production, so he saw the space he felt he could fill there. That largely inspired the vision for D Billions.

Bolotbek joined the team two years ago to manage commercial operations when, as he puts it, “it was time for the production startup that had already blown up and had already had some hits to expand its brand presence.” His role involves transforming what began as a content creation success into a global entertainment brand with multiple revenue streams.

Reimagining Children’s Content Engagement

What distinguishes D Billions in the children’s content space is their deliberate rejection of conventional wisdom about creating for young audiences.

“Music is one of the main keys,” Bolotbek reveals. “It has been written for D Billions as though it is written not for kids. Meaning it’s very rhythmic and rich. It’s actually composed like a complete musical piece.”

This approach starkly contrasts typical children’s music, which Bolotbek describes as “very slow, much slower than our music” and created “with huge caution for the kid ear.” 

Where traditional children’s music might feature simple melodies, limited instrumentation, and predictable patterns, D Billions incorporates complex rhythms, fuller orchestration, and more sophisticated compositional structures—elements typically reserved for adult-oriented music.

Rather than “dumbing down” their compositions, they elevate them, betting that children respond to musical complexity more positively than the industry assumed.

This gamble paid off spectacularly. Songs like “Yummy Fruits and Vegetables” and “My Name Is” have become global phenomena, with the latter generating approximately 300 million user-created videos on platforms like TikTok and Douyin. “My Name Is” was even recognized as a trend of 2022 and featured in Eurovision.

The Formula: A Three-Part Science

D Billions’ approach to capturing children’s attention consists of three key elements that work in concert:

1. Visual Engagement

“If you watch our content, you will notice several things. One of them is the visual side. It’s the bright colors,” Bolotbek explains. “They are actually popping but also very engaging and inviting.”

The company employs up to 45 animators at times to create vibrant, eye-catching visuals that immediately draw children in. Understanding that kids will “swipe through right away” if not visually engaged in the first few seconds, the team optimizes every frame for maximum impact.

Unlike the more muted or pastel palette often used in children’s content, D Billions opts for high-contrast, saturated colors that command attention from the very first frame.

2. Performative Connection

The second element is the performance style of their characters—Cha-Cha, Chicky, Lya-Lya, and Boom-Boom.

“The actors of Cha-Cha, Chicky, Lya-Lya, and Boom-Boom have the skill to engage the kid, to invite him as though they’re talking, playing with the audience,” says Bolotbek, adding that this direct engagement creates an immediate personal connection that makes children feel involved rather than passive viewers.

The performers use direct address, asking questions and leaving space for responses, creating what Bolotbek describes as a “FaceTime type call” feeling of intimacy that draws children into the content.

3. Dynamic Music

The final and most critical component is their distinctive musical approach—creating sophisticated, energetic compositions that treat children as musically capable rather than limited.

By rejecting the slow, cautious approach common in children’s music, D Billions creates content that children actively seek out rather than merely accept. The music functions as both the hook that captures initial attention and the foundation that sustains it throughout the video.

Data Drives Refinement

Without the feedback mechanism of comments (disabled on children’s YouTube content), D Billions relies heavily on analytics to perfect their formula.

“Retention was certainly a big part of things,” Bolotbek notes. The team tracks metrics like view duration, drop-off points, and which parts of videos are frequently replayed to understand the most effective elements.

This data has shaped their approach because young children make immediate, instinctive decisions about content. As Bolotbek succinctly puts it, “They can be the best critics because they have no time for diplomacy or kindness.”

The insights gained from this analytical approach have confirmed their counterintuitive strategy: more stimulation, not less, is what captures and maintains children’s attention. When videos underperform, the team can identify precisely where engagement drops and adjust future content accordingly.

What About Engagement?

D Billions’ approach to maintaining engagement has changed continuously. As Bolotbek reveals, Umetaliev instituted a policy of introducing a new visual representation of their characters every six months to keep the content fresh while building character recognition.

What began as live actors with minimal 2D animation grew to include fully 3D animated worlds, puppet versions of characters, robot forms, and now completely 2D animated versions. “It never overhauled what we did before,” Bolotbek explains. “It was just new ways to envision the characters and their world.”

The characters remain instantly recognizable despite appearing in radically different visual styles—creating IP that can travel across formats and platforms.

Growing a Global Business

The attention-capturing formula D Billions perfected has fueled its expansion into a multifaceted entertainment empire. The company now produces content in 12 languages, with the English channel boasting 33 million subscribers and the Spanish and Russian channels exceeding 10 million subscribers each.

This foundation of attention has enabled their growth into multiple business areas beyond content creation. January 2025 marked the launch of their first mobile game, with a second one in development. 

They’ve partnered with a touring agent to bring their characters to live global shows, are preparing to publish books based on their characters, and plan to launch an e-commerce shop with merchandise lines by year’s end.

Furthermore, the company is developing its own OTT platform with specialized educational tools for parents, expanding to traditional TV channels in major markets, and exploring opportunities for console games, PC games, and Roblox experiences.

The Future of Children’s Engagement

As D Billions looks toward future growth, they’re focusing on deepening their educational impact while maintaining the engagement that made them successful.

“We want to learn how to do more on the educational side of things,” Bolotbek shares. “We are about to launch our own app by the summer, wherein we will include many more educational tools for parents to take advantage of special lullaby lists and wake-up kits, making kids brush their teeth or eat properly.”

They’re also expanding geographically, recognizing untapped potential in Asian markets. “Just last year we realized Asia is a huge market for us. We need to stop just looking at the U.S. and Canada and Latin America and Britain,” Bolotbek notes.