Good morning. In step with fashion week, Kai Cenat launched his high-end fashion brand Vivet over the weekend.
Among the leather jackets and combat boots is a $550 streaming backpack. Now, the film crew can look just as good as the creator in front of the camera.
Today’s lineup:
Steven Bartlett’s $400M Obsession
Meet the woman behind Mythical’s analytics
Why one creator became a full-time OpenAI employee
Steven Bartlett Launches $400M Creator Venture, OBSN
Steven Bartlett (left) plans to expand news media company Obsession (right) through his latest creator venture, OBSN / Steven Bartlett, Obsession
The Diary of a CEO creator Steven Bartlett is partnering with licensing and entertainment company Authentic Brands Group to launch OBSN, a venture that aims to deploy up to $400M into creator-led media companies and brands.
The details: According to the press release, OBSN will work with creators to provide strategy and infrastructure to build “enduring, multigenerational” companies—spanning media, products, licensing, and global distribution.
OBSN’s core product is its creator news media company, Obsession, which includes an Instagram with over 1M followers. It plans to expand to more content formats, live events, and awards.
Bartlett’s holding company, Steven.com, will run OBSN’s media, tech, and data, while Authentic handles brand-building and licensing.
Between the lines: With the venture, Authentic Brands Group—the second-largest licensing company in the US next to Disney—is acknowledging that creators are brandable IP worth building companies around, not just talent.
Authentic recently invested in Drake’s lifestyle brand OVO and manages the licensing for Shaquille O’Neal and Elvis Presley and Bob Marley’s estates.
Zoom out: OBSN joins Steven.com’s growing portfolio. Beyond Bartlett’s podcast with 19M YouTube subscribers, Steven.com received an eight-figure investment from Slow Ventures last November, valuing the company at $425M. It also houses creative agency Flight Story, podcast platform Flightcast, and $100M venture arm Flight Fund.
Mythical’s Tips for Mastering YouTube Analytics
Leah Casselman (right), Mythical's senior director of analytics and optimization, shares how creators can take ownership over their analytics / Leah Casselman, Mythical
Whether you’re a multi-million subscriber YouTube channel with a Netflix deal or a solo creator building on your own, analytics are the backbone to understanding who’s watching and why. But some creators have access to more data than others. Mythical, for example, draws from a library of more than 5K videos.
We talked to Leah Casselman, Mythical’s senior director of analytics and optimization, to unpack three ways smaller creators can handle their data the way a major creator studio does →
Define your core audience vs. your wide audience. Over the past couple years, Casselman and her team discovered that Mythical’s core audience (first-day viewers) and wide audience (second day viewers and beyond) have different tastes, literally. For example, Good Mythical Morning’s core viewers are more likely to click on a thumbnail with Italian food, while the wide audience is more likely to click on Japanese food.
As Mythical’s post-production team tracks trends in audience click-through rate and watch time, they adjust titles and thumbnails after the first day to match what their audience wants.Don’t forget your back catalog. “Even though the core storytelling elements of what makes a video good is the same throughout time, the semantics and tone changes,” Casselman said.
As older titles and thumbnails become outdated, Mythical updates and replaces them to keep up with current trends.Put yourself in the viewer’s shoes. Casselman advises creators to understand their own habits as a consumer.
“If I'm having a crafting day and I want to watch a bunch of videos, what am I searching for?” Casselman said. “How do I want to consume content so I can just have a playlist going while I do stuff that's a little less focused?”
How do you use your analytics to learn about your audience? Hit reply and let us know.
Sponsored by Canon
Get Behind the Lens for Creator
Unleash your creativity with one of the most iconic imaging brands on the planet. Canon USA is seeking a powerhouse visual creator to step behind—and occasionally in front of—the lens to shape the future of our digital storytelling.
In this high-impact, remote role, you’ll produce show-stopping product launch content, create social content including at events and trade shows nationwide, and get first-look access to our latest cinema and mirrorless gear.
If you thrive in a production environment, have 5+ years of experience, and a killer portfolio, this is your ultimate stage—submit your reel and apply to be a part of the Canon team here.
Tech Creator Goes In-House at OpenAI
Cova Lee joins OpenAI as an in-house creator / cova
During our August Coffee With Creators event, social media consultant Rachel Karten predicted we would see more creators taking in-house roles at brands. OpenAI’s newest hire is the latest example.
Last week, tech and art creator Cova Lee joined OpenAI as a full-time employee, her job title on LinkedIn just reading “Vibes.”
How she got here→
She pitched herself to OpenAI as in-house talent to work across product development and social teams.
Lee joins other creators like Jeffrey Sun, Alex Heath, and Ryan To—all of whom have taken internal positions at tech companies in the past month. OpenAI also acquired creator-led media company TBPN earlier this year.
The one thing Lee wants to fix? Public perception. Lee told us that by going in-house, she would be able to speak on certain insider topics and clear up miseducation in the AI space while still being able to hold her own independent platform.
“I think people building technology get a bad rep in the wider culture,” Lee told us. “Very fairly so, because we do not do a good job at bringing people into the story, despite the mission being to make technology available for everyone. And I wanted to change that narrative.”
👀 Creator Jobs
Science creator Cleo Abram’s Huge Productions is hiring an animator and senior producer.
Business creator Taylor Bell is looking for a part-time social media manager and editor.
Design creator Karo Crafts is hiring for several positions based in NYC, including brand content and marketing manager.
🔥 Press Worthy
Smosh signs a multi-year sales and distribution deal with podcast platform Audacy.
Dude Perfect launches a video game.
Jake and Logan Paul are executive producing a show with ESPN called Fight Island.
Instagram lets users add tagged photos to their profile grids.
Crooked Media is launching a political creator program.
The NFL is partnering with creators like Zach King and Dhar Mann for its 2026-2027 season.
