# Steven Bartlett builds a creator holding company

> The podcaster turned investor is teaming with Authentic Brands to turn top creators into actual businesses.
- Title: Steven Bartlett builds a creator holding company · Variety
- Summary: The podcaster turned investor is teaming with Authentic Brands to turn top creators into actual businesses. The next stage of the creator economy is…
- Keywords: creator economy, steven bartlett, authentic brands, media deals, consumer brands, entertainment, culture, Steven, Bartlett, builds, creator, holding
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/steven-bartlett-obsn-steven-com-authentic-brands-creators-1236860849
- Author: Cynthia Littleton
- Published: 2026-09-14T16:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: creator economy, steven bartlett, authentic brands, media deals, consumer brands, entertainment, culture
## 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.
## Key takeaway

The next stage of the creator economy is ownership: creators building products and companies, not just renting out their audience to advertisers.