Steven Bartlett continues to pour into the creator economy.
Bartlett started out by turning a $100 microphone from the Apple Store into a podcast career, according to his LinkedIn. He is the brains behind “The Diary Of A CEO,” a podcast that started in his bedroom in Manchester, England, and has grown to more than 890 episodes and 19.6 million subscribers (at the time of this writing).
“I could never have imagined how much that decision would change my life. That podcast became a media company, and has now expanded beyond me. We now serve more than 500 creators across our platform and technology,” he said on LinkedIn.
Bartlett’s media company Steven.com scored an eight-figure investment to empower the creator economy and now employs nearly 200 individuals, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
OBSN (Obsession)
The media company has now expanded its efforts through a partnership with Authentic Brands Group, a venture representing more than 50 brands with a presence in more than 150 countries that produces more than $38 billion in retail sales globally each year, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™. The partnership has launched OBSN (Obsession), a platform intended to provide creators with the resources to become global businesses.
Steven.com will handle media, technology, data, and audience growth, while Authentic Brands Group will handle brand building, product, licensing, strategic partnerships, and global distribution.
OBSN projects opportunities to deploy “millions of dollars” to the creator economy, per the release.
“The next generation of global media companies and consumer brands will be built around creators. But a global audience of millions is not yet a company, and it certainly should not be the ceiling of a creator’s potential,” said Bartlett, according to a press release. “Steven.com understands how to build media and audiences around creators, and Authentic understands how to build and extend brands around the world. OBSN brings those capabilities together so ambitious creators can reach the full scale of their ambition. We are aiming to deploy up to $400m in creator businesses over the coming years, OBSN is at the heart of that strategy.”
Authentic President and CEO Matt Maddox commented:
“Creators are redefining media and shaping the future of entertainment, with many poised to become multigenerational brands in their own right. We are excited to partner with Steven Bartlett and his exceptional team to launch OBSN and create a powerful new model for creators and their businesses. By combining our complementary capabilities, we will identify, invest in, and scale creator-led IP — capitalizing on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strategically deploy hundreds of millions of dollars across the creator economy and build the brands of tomorrow.”
