Authentic lands in your inbox every Tuesday, with the deals worth studying, the strategies worth stealing, and the shifts worth watching… all from the people building the brand-creator economy from the inside. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, you can find us at liveauthentic.io.
Tickets to the Brand-Creator Summit are now live at events.aivanta.io/e/authentic, including a limited Shantell Martin package with a signed copy of her book, Shantell Martin: Lines. Early bird pricing is available for a limited time, and we'll be announcing new speakers here and on the ticketing page over the next month.
Trending The Market
Steven Bartlett And Authentic Brands Group Collaborate On Venture To Make More Creator CEOs
Podcast host and top creator Steven Bartlett is teaming up with IP-management firm Authentic Brands Group on a new venture that plans to invest $400 million in creator-led businesses.
The Big Pitch: Creator startups are already competing with legacy brands… and the popular personality at their center is giving them a leg up in awareness. Yet, the infrastructure is still being built to support their growth. Bartlett and Authentic believe they have the right match of skills to turn viral creators into successful CEOs.
The Fine Print: The new venture, dubbed OBSN, hopes to be at the center of the brand-creator economy.
OBSN plans to help fund and develop IP and businesses from creator clients and then co-run the ventures alongside them, according to Variety.
It will also house a media platform, Obsession, centered on the creator economy that will feature news analysis and live events.
The company will look to invest in creators working in evergreen product categories and “score highly on traits like resilience, ambition, and the ability to respond to setbacks.”
Bartlett and Authentic haven’t given details on which creators they plan to work with or a timeline to release the funds except for sometime “over the coming years.”
The Analysis: Bartlett will co-run the venture through his holding company, Steven.com, which calls itself the “operating system for the creator economy.” Bartlett says he sees OBSN as a way to develop the holistic business identity of creators. It’s the intersection of two worlds he knows a lot about.
Meanwhile, Authentic will focus on the operation’s brand-building, product development, IP licensing, strategic partnerships, and global distribution. Authentic has plenty of experiences in this regard — the company manages over 50 brands ranging from established retailers to celebrity labels.
Combining the powers of Bartlett and Authentic could help build a sustainable roster of creator companies, without the influencers at their centers needing to be part of the social-media A-list. It might be prudent to pinpoint creators that brands can join forces with from the outset. We have a feeling a lot more investment is about to enter this space.
Together with Consumable
Audio For The Outcomes Era
Most media plans treat audio as a few line items: a streaming buy, maybe a podcast sponsorship. But the audio ecosystem is far bigger than that… and much of it is going untouched.
Mobile apps, addressable podcast audiences, and creator-led content extended across platforms — these are spaces where attention is intentional and trust already exists.
Consumable opens up that ecosystem.
The tool helps you reach 210M+ Comscore-verified monthly users across formats and channels.
It’s powered by listener intelligence, precision targeting, and modern identity infrastructure.
Every audio impression is measurable, addressable, and tied to real outcomes.
Consumable lets brands reach audiences wherever they listen, with the same precision and accountability marketers expect from their best digital channels.
Through immersive ad experiences that combine audio, visuals, and interactivity, brands can finally turn listening into engagement and business impact.
Building The Stack
YouTube Reports On The Mainstream
YouTube partnered with NRG on a new Culture & Trends report that found that the mainstream hasn’t disappeared — it has evolved. Titled In Search of Mainstream, the report found that YouTube creators and online memes have as much cultural awareness as Hollywood celebrities and the Super Bowl. It shows that culture is no longer atomized between traditional and emerging media — they all belong in the same conversation.
Creator-Platform Investment Ramps Up
New Market Pitch does an excellent job of tracking all the successful funding rounds of companies across the brand-creator economy… and this summer was a particularly busy season. While Levanta and ElevenLabs commanded most of the $1.39 billion raised, half of the 12 deals were Series A. Additionally, five of the companies that raised money are specifically focused on managing the relationship between brands and creators. That demonstrates that there’s a healthy appetite for new investment in this space.
The Affinity List Ranks Creator Engagement
Renowned media executive Evan Shapiro and What’s Trending founder Shira Lazar teamed up with Whalar Group digital operating system Foam to launch the Affinity List — a ranking of creators who command the most engagement from their followers. That’s an interesting angle that shifts the power among top talent in unexpected ways. For example, “Smarter In Seconds” creator Blair Imani is No. 1, while MrBeast is No. 85. We didn’t see that coming.
What group are you most interested in hearing from at the Brand Creator Summit?
Social Updates
Meta launched a new subscription product, Meta One, that gives creators several AI features to boost their performance across its family of apps.
Threads is rolling out a new feature that lets podcasters promote their shows on the platform.
Twitch debuted an AI “Stream Coach” to help users get more comfortable livestreaming.
X introduced a tool called Cashtags that will let users make investments with participating brokerages.
Wrapping Up
That's it this week. Before you close out: tickets to the Brand-Creator Summit are now on sale at events.aivanta.io/e/authentic. Early bird pricing is up for a limited time, so if you have been planning to be in the room with us, now is the moment to move.
A limited number of Shantell Martin packages are available, each with a signed copy of her book, Shantell Martin: Lines. Once those are gone, they’re gone. Newly confirmed speakers will be announced here in the newsletter and on the ticketing page as the program comes together over the next month. It’s going to be a good room.
— The Authentic Team