From Variety · Cynthia Littleton · · 1m 20s
Steven Bartlett builds a creator holding company
The podcaster turned investor is teaming with Authentic Brands to turn top creators into actual businesses.
In brief
The podcaster turned investor is teaming with Authentic Brands to turn top creators into actual businesses. The next stage of the creator economy is ownership: creators building products and companies, not just renting out their audience to advertisers. Originally reported by Variety.
Bartlett makes his move
Steven Bartlett, the entrepreneur behind one of the biggest business podcasts going, has tied up with Authentic Brands on a new venture called OBSN.
Built for creators
OBSN is designed to back creators directly, helping them develop consumer products and services built around their own name and audience.
“a business venture designed to support creators”
A media arm too
The partners plan a platform covering the creator economy itself, with news, analysis and live events aimed at the people building inside it.
“providing news, analysis and live experiences for the creator economy”
More than a launchpad
It is not just about starting businesses. OBSN is also meant to help creators manage and run the range of companies they end up owning.
Why Authentic Brands
Authentic has spent years buying and licensing brand names at scale. Pairing that machinery with creator attention is the whole bet here.
Attention becomes equity
The deal points at where creator business is heading: audiences converted into owned products, with the creator holding the upside instead of a sponsor.
The headline
The next stage of the creator economy is ownership: creators building products and companies, not just renting out their audience to advertisers.
