[av_heading heading=’#108. Mr Beast’s Manager Reed Duchscher on The Biggest Opportunities in the Creator Industry’ tag=’h1′ link_apply=” link=’manually,http://’ link_target=” style=” size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ margin=” padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=” av-desktop-hide=” av-medium-hide=” av-small-hide=” av-mini-hide=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=”][/av_heading]
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Reed Duchscher manages fifteen of the most prominent YouTubers on the planet, including MrBeast, Preston, Typical Gamer and Unspeakable through his firm Night Media. Between them, his clients have around 350 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views per month.
Reed’s firm, Night Media, is a multi-faceted management company with three business arms. Its 360° management department helps clients hire and fire team members and brand building, sponsorships, economics, and more. Second, Venture Studio develops other businesses for Night Media’s talent, helping them leverage the distribution they’ve created. The third, newest entity is a venture capital firm investing in emerging software and the creator economy.
What you’ll learn in this interview:
- Ideas for diversifying your business
- How to perform better on YouTube than everyone else
- Should you start a second channel?
- The future of the Creator Economy
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Reed’s story
Reed Duchscher started his management career in sports, representing NFL players. But when he realised that all the youngsters he knew were more likely to be watching YouTubers like Dude Perfect than ballplayers, he decided it was time to switch fields.
In 2014 he met sports entertainment group Dude Perfect which needed the diversification that Reed could offer. So Reed connected Dude Perfect with Callaway Golf, and the resulting videos were wildly successful.
Reed then formed Night Media Management in Dallas, focusing on just a few high-level clients who understood they had a lot of value but didn’t know how to grow, hire, or leverage their star power to become entrepreneurs. He works with family-friendly creators who are at the top of their niches.
Why Reed’s clients are top performers on YouTube
Night Media’s talents have had long careers, where they’ve learned what content performs well, who their fan base is, what type of content they want. They know what YouTube’s algorithm likes in terms of video length, thumbnails and title and ensure they’ve optimised their content accordingly.
Top YouTubers:
- Pay attention to the data inside their YouTube dashboard.
This data includes the AVD — estimated average minutes watched per view on a video and the CTR (click-through rate.) YouTube suggests content based on videos that have high AVDs and CTRs.
“One thing that’s really made our creators successful is understanding why videos do well on YouTube and how they can best optimise for that.”
- Love making YouTube videos — there is nothing else they’d rather be doing.
It isn’t easy to cope with the YouTube lifestyle if your mindset is centered around wealth or fame. Reed says,
“You should get into this industry because you love content creation and making videos… you enjoy this whole digital ecosystem and creator economy. That’s why our clients are in this industry.”
- Make high-quality content and post regularly.
YouTube videos should ideally be more than 10 minutes long and be very high quality. So if the video doesn’t come up to scratch, don’t post it. About 20% of MrBeast’s videos don’t air because they don’t meet his exacting standards.
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Video: what BIG YouTubers like Mr Beast do differently
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Ways for creators to diversify their businesses
The easiest way for content creators to diversify is with apparel or merchandise related to their brand. If you’re interested in this option, Fanjoy and Teespring are two of the many companies that support creators in the merchandise industry.
Some creators choose CPG (consumer packaged goods). Emma Chamberlain Coffee and the ACE family’s Silly Juice Company are two examples of successful CPG businesses.
An attractive third option is VDC — virtual dining concept. For example, MrBeast Burger is a VDC that operates out of existing restaurant kitchens. First, diners order through the MrBeast Burger app, then the burger is made by one of its many affiliated restaurants in the US or Europe.
Finally, software development has many exciting possibilities for creators but has the highest associated costs, including hiring developers and engineers. Of course the software should have a tangible link to your brand. E.g. Beast Games began with the aim of making games that engage MrBeast’s whole community and stems from the “last person standing” games he plays on his channel.
Should you start a second channel?
Reed says that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question — it all depends on the individual creator and their circumstances.
Considerations include:
- Do you have time to service a second channel?
- Is there an audience for it?
- Do you have enough passion for it?
- Does the new content fit into your brand? One reason to start a channel is if it would be confusing as part of your main brand.
- Can you guarantee the quality?
Some creators have multiple channels in different languages. To make these they use the videos from their main channel but either subtitle or dub them for the new audience. Whether to go with dubbing or subtitles will depend on your audience’s age and preferences, and your budget.
The future of the Creator Economy
There’s never been a better time to be a creator, and Reed’s instinct says that this will continue to improve. Viewer loyalty is trending away from big companies (e.g., Nickelodeon) towards individuals who inspire loyalty and trust among their followers.
Kids aren’t wearing Nike or other big brands. These days they’re wearing fan apparel and ordering MrBeast Burgers instead of McDonald’s or Burger King. It seems that people would rather order something from someone they trust, whose content they consume daily, instead of a corporation.
Creators are uniquely positioned to take advantage of this trend.
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Video: Reed Duchscher on why Creators are the new TV Networks
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Reed’s tips for Creators
Offer value to build relationships before you ask for something.
“The relationships that I started building were never going to start with an ask, or me asking them to work with me or sign with me. I was just trying to provide value wherever I could.”
Use Community to connect with your audience.
In Community, you can provide fans with a phone number that they text to join your community. As a creator, you can then text them as a group, individually or by location.
YouTube is the Crown Jewel of content creation.
Platform diversification is popular and important, but if you want a business, your aim should be to transition your audience from Instagram, TikTok and Twitter onto your YouTube channel.
It’s difficult to monetise on those three platforms right now, but it’s easier on YouTube if you can continually make good videos.
Examine your motivation.
Don’t create content you hate just to grow, especially if you’re a smaller creator. But, on the other hand, you shouldn’t get into this business just to get rich.
Are you a creative entrepreneur or a content creator at heart? Ask yourself these questions:
It all comes down to a few things I think people should think about:
- What do I want out of this?
- What do I love?
- The type of content you love to make.
The Content Creator mindset says:
I prefer to create content while building a business that makes money and gives me a successful creative career.
The Entrepreneurial mindset says:
“I absolutely love this, let’s see how far I can take it.”
Contact Reed
Night Media website
reedjd: LinkedIn
Reed on Twitter
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