This YouTuber built a massive following by interviewing touring musicians
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ If you work in the live music business, there’s a decent chance you know of Josh Weidling, even though you probably wouldn’t recognize his face. That’s because he’s almost always been behind the camera as he interviewed literally thousands of musicians touring through the midwest. Josh launched his YouTube channel Digital Tour Bus in 2009, and over the next 15 years he dutifully uploaded upwards of five fresh interviews a week with musicians who walked the viewer through their tour bus and explained how they chose their musical instruments and gear. In a recent interview, Josh dove into the origin story of the YouTube channel and explained how he turned it into a business. He also discussed why he decided to keep his day job rather than go all in on the franchise.
--------
55:14
--------
55:14
How three Morning Brew alums struck out to build their own niche media network
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Of all the media outlets to have launched in the last decade, Morning Brew has had one of the most impressive growth trajectories. Not only did it build its main newsletter to millions of subscribers, but it also spun off multiple B2B niche verticals and has had enormous success on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. So it’s not surprising that when three of its early employees left to launch their own media company, there were plenty of high profile creators eager to work with them. Under the banner of Smooth Media Creative Holdings, these alums have built out an influencer marketing agency and also their own niche outlets. In a recent interview, co-founder Josh Kaplan delved deeper into Smooth Media’s strategy, explained how it works with big YouTubers, and discussed why the company decided to acquire a 30-year-old B2B media brand.
--------
32:06
--------
32:06
This company is building the world's biggest media network for baking creators
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ Food content is now a major staple on YouTube, but when baker Gemma Stafford launched her channel in 2014 there were hardly any professional chefs on the platform. This early mover advantage allowed her and her husband Kevin Kurtz to build up a massive audience that used Gemma’s tutorials in their own baking efforts. Then a few years ago they teamed up with media veteran Ronald Pruett, Jr. to launch the Bold Baking Network, a streaming platform that syndicates content from hundreds of baking creators all across the world. In a recent interview, Kevin and Ron walked through the company’s origin story, how they monetized Gemma’s videos, and why they decided to expand beyond YouTube and build their own platform.
--------
52:10
--------
52:10
This former Disney exec's podcast company generates 100 million monthly downloads
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ The podcast company Sonoro launched in 2020 with a relatively simple thesis: that there were very few media companies geared toward the 62 million latinos within the US. Over the next four years, it built out a stable of dozens of podcasts across several formats ranging from serialized nonfiction to personality-led chat shows. In addition to the standard podcast monetization models, it also sought to further capitalize its IP by selling adaptations to Hollywood studios and developing its own merch lines. Today, the network generates over 100 million monthly downloads and works with some of the world’s biggest latino creators. In a recent interview co-founder Joshua Weinstein explained how the company partners with talent and walked through all the ways it’s monetizing its IP.
--------
48:41
--------
48:41
How to sell your media business
My newsletter: https://simonowens.substack.com/ When the media covers business acquisitions, it’s usually only for huge deals involving VC-backed companies. Coverage of mergers for small, bootstrapped businesses is almost nonexistent. That’s where They Got Acquired comes in. Launched in 2021, it focuses on acquisitions in the $100,000 to $50 million range. Recently, it put out a detailed research report specifically focused on acquisitions of media outlets, which are typically sold at lower multiples than other kinds of online businesses. In an interview, founder Alexis Grant walked through the experience she had selling two of her own media outlets and explained the steps a current media entrepreneur should take to maximize the selling price for their own business.
Polska