Going Mobile With MrBeast

💡 TOP STORIES

MR BEAST TARGETS MOBILE PHONES 

Famous people and media companies launching mobile phone networks isn’t new.  But it almost always ends in a quick crash, not raging success.  Enter MrBeast, with plans to launch their own MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) in 2026 – according to Business Insider.  

Can he beat the odds where Mobile ESPN, Disney Mobile, Univision Mobile and Yahoo Mobile all failed?  It’s a cutthroat business, with brutal economics, driven by network cost, subscriber retention and larger macro trends.

What about Ryan Reynolds and Mint Mobile?  It was a smashing success, right?  Not exactly. Reynolds joined many years after launch, exchanging his marketing power (and possibly some cash or sweat equity) for a 25% stake.  When T-Mobile acquired Mint, it wasn’t because the company was crushing it… it was a defensive move. Mint had been flirting with Verizon, and T-Mobile faced a rumored $500 million EBITDA hit if Verizon got the deal.  The $1.35B headline price looked impressive, but only a small fraction was in cash.  Most was tied to performance-based earn-outs and TMo stock.  In my experience, what you see at close is usually all you’ll ever get, so I always tell founders to heavily discount non-cash deal terms.  

For creators launching new products, two questions matter most: Does it solve a real problem for your community, and do you have the operational chops to compete with entrenched players.  Obviously, everyone needs affordable mobile service.  But what’s MrBeast’s edge?  Bundling exclusive content, golden ticket giveaways, or other sweepstakes will help at first.  Sustaining success, though, requires ruthless execution against established players.

If it’s just another licensing play, then the risk is also high.  We’ve already seen failures with MrBeast Burger, Lunchly and the disastrous “Mr Beast Experience”.  It’s also a crowded market, with SmartLess Mobile and Trump Mobile chasing many of the same buyers.

Here’s hoping Beast Mobile defies history. But make no mistake: the deck is stacked against it. (Business Insider $)

VTUBERS ARE PEOPLE TOO

A recent take making the rounds asked whether VTubers are “stealing brand deals” from human creators – specifically calling out Hololive’s network.  Provocative, but wrong.  Hololive’s 88 VTubers aren’t AI generated slop.  They’re real people making real content…  just wrapped up in a 3D avatar, rather than showing their face to the camera.  These performers and voice actors are just as real as any YouTuber and are just as deserving of brand partnerships.

This isn’t new. Dream built one of YouTube’s biggest fandoms without ever showing his face. Deadmau5 and Marshmello perform entire concerts inside helmets. Daft Punk turned anonymity into an art form. No one accused them of being “not real” or of stealing gigs from unmasked musicians. VTubers are simply the latest iteration of that long tradition of costumed creators performing for big audiences.

It goes deeper. VTuber avatars give disfigured and differently abled creators a way to share their talents without being trolled.  And they offer a safer outlet for creators in restrictive environments who might otherwise be silenced.  Calling them thieves isn’t just misguided…  It’s needlessly cruel.

Yes, we’re seeing fully AI avatars pop up on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference at first glance.  But let’s not let the AI backlash tarnish the creators behind these talented, human-powered channels.  VTubers are winning brand deals because their communities are engaged, their content resonates and their creativity shines brightly.  They aren’t replacing real people; they’re building new types of human creativity.  Just wearing pixels instead of pants. 

NARRATIVE ENGINEERING AT SCALE

Wondering how the Cracker Barrel flap got so big so quick?  It wasn’t just outrage – it was a deliberate form of narrative engineering, using weaponized bots, precision targeting and artificial amplification.  A torrent of manufactured posts across three vectors generated a flood of authentic engagements that ultimately caused more than a 10% drop in Cracker Barrel’s market valuation – and ultimately a pivot back to the old logo.  The solution?  According to @Sara Wilson it’s getting ahead of the problem by nurturing authentic communities of fan advocates that can push back against the battle bots.  (Community Catalysts)

YOUTUBE’S NFL GLOW-UP

Friday’s game broadcast from Brazil worked well.  The YouTuber tie-ins?  Not so much.  Worse, they underscored a bigger media trend: The Diffusion of Fandom.  A day before kickoff, Jimmy Donaldson and NFL commissioner Roger Godell rolled out a skit where MrBeast “bought the NFL” and added a YouTuber to each of the 32 NFL teams.  Ten years ago this might have worked, as most fans knew and loved (or hated) the same set of YouTube stars.  But today?  Outside of Belgian Footballer Celine Dept’s wickedly funny cameo as a New York Giant, and her retort that “she’s been playing football all her life”, the stunt fell flat.  How many viewers recognized two or more of Cody Conrad (NY Jets), Haylee Baylee (Vikings), Karl Jacobs (Ravens), C Mallow (Panthers), Sketch (Houston Texans) and Marlon Lundgren Garcia (LA Chargers). With fragmented audiences and a muddled message the bit left more people scratching their heads than cheering.   (YouTube, Yahoo, Lowpass)

Related: YouTube got double its normal CPM for ad spots in its NFL streamcast. (NYT $)

WHY THIS NEWSLETTER IS FREE – AND ALWAYS WILL BE

@Doug Shapiro clarifies the trend we’re already seeing on TikTok, Shorts, LinkedIn and beyond: As all media tends to free, you’ll have to build your business on other related things – like touring, merch, communities and knowledge sharing.  It’s also why you’ll always be able to read this on LinkedIn, Beehiiv and Louderback.com free forever (unlike many others).  The value accruing to me comes not by selling the media – but by all the other ways I monetize. (The Mediator $)

😎 SPONSOR

POSSIBLY YOU!

Inside the Creator Economy is open for business!  Interested in sponsoring this newsletter?  Drop me an email and check out our sponsorship information here.

💡 PLATFORMS

YOUTUBE

• Antitrust Ruling: Google dodges a bullet, won’t have to divest Chrome.  Here’s what they DO have to do. (NYT)

• $3B Fine: The EU fines Google over $3B for abusing its online advertising monopoly, and may force it to divest some ad tech.  (European Commission)

• YouTube Blocked:  Nepal plans to block YouTube, X, Facebook and other platforms for failing to register with the government. (AP)  

• AI Destroys History: Error-laden AI generated videos are swamping YouTube, burying accurate work from real historians. (404 Media)

• Creators and Media Companies Beware.  @Franklin Graves explains why Disney’s $10M settlement over improperly labelling “Made for Kids” video opens all of us up to both scrutiny and culpability.  Check out the FTCs guidance as well. (Creator Economy Law, FTC)

• Nom Nom Nom:  Sesame Street decamps to Big Red (Neal Mohan)

META

• Finally: Native iPad app for Instagram arrives.  And it’s good! (Instagram)

• Move Fast and Break Things: Meta developers created chatbots based on real people.  The Taylor Swift one got flirty.  Zach and Bru must be so proud. (Reuters, Meta)

• Really? “It’s time to start poking again”, said no one ever. (CNet, Instagram)

TIKTOK

• Feed Me! 1 in 3 EU citizens now use TikTok – 200M in total.  (Reuters)

• AI Innovation: TikTok tech team uses prompt caching to cut costs in half (TikTok)

💡 QUIBIS

OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Jerry Lewis Would Be So Proud:  Kai Cenat manager @Reid Duchscher explores the Twitch marathon phenomenon, and why it’s becoming increasingly relevant. (Night Light)

• CapCut for LinkedIn:  Now you can post directly to LinkedIn from CapCut.  But your video gets a fat CapCut ad, and will now be sucked into the Bytedance Borg.  (LinkedIn)

• Premiere Comes to Iphone: Good first step.  Give me an Android version that publishes right to LinkedIn and now we’re talking!  (Adobe)

• The Demise of Deminimus: Creators launching/selling products need to know about these changed tax and import rules. (CNBC) 

• Roblox Copies TikTok:  New short-form social video platform called Roblox Moments debuts.  (Roblox) 

• Mo Money: Roblox Also Increases its payout to creators by 8.5%. (Roblox)

• Sad:  The Financial Times shuts down TNW – aka The Next Web – a once great event and digital media hub.  We did a very stoney live Diggnation there once. (Sifted, TNW)

• On the Move: Ex TikTok and Verizon creator exec @Lina Renzina signs on to Patreon.  Hello Sunshine CEO @Sarah Harden steps down – looking forward to what’s next.  (LinkedIn, THR)

• Sponsorship Rates Rise:  Pay transparency is leading to higher rates for creators. (Digiday)

• The Power of Going Direct:  Motom helps brands go direct to buyers with customized storefronts where everyone wins.  (Net Influencer)

• Crashing Hard:  Social shopping app Flip shuts down suddenly, leaving creators and brands holding the bag. (Beauty Independent)

• Podcasting Gone Global:  A look at Indian podcasters shows that the format has truly gone global.  (Social Nation)

CREATOR TECH – AI, AR, VR, MORE

• $1.5B Copyright Settlement: Anthropic to pay up to $3k per book to authors of 500,000 books it improperly used to train its models.  This could be a model for other suits too.  And I hope some of that comes my way! (Fast Company)  

• Global Payments: Getting creators paid globally from platforms, brands and fans is a HUGE problem.  Here’s hoping this new company can help (TechCrunch)

• It’s A Start: Ghana’s GCB bank wants to pay TikTok creators directly, bypassing pricey third parties. (GCB)

• It’s Official: Google’s AI Mode will soon be their search default (Search Engine Roundtable)

📊 RESEARCH

• For Teens, By Teens: Forget TV.  YouTube’s latest culture report depicts a world where teens are largely abandoning traditional media made by “old people”. According to the study, Gen Z spends 54% more time with social platforms and UGC than traditional media, and they see themselves as both consumers and creators. Their new “creative maximalism”—layered, referential, co-created content like Skibidi Toilet and Italian Brain Rot—is shaping global culture and brand strategy. (YouTube)

• Sport Risers and Fallers:  A new “US Sports on the Rise” report shows Gen Z reshaping fandom, with basketball, women’s sports, soccer, and F1 seeing the biggest jumps. For creators, that means athletes doubling as influencers, clippers owning distribution rights, and big sports events like the Emirates NBA Cup and WrestleMania are fertile ground for creators to explore. (YouGov)

100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!) and AI was very lightly used for editing.

Like this free newsletter?  Buy me a coffee and say thanks!  Or let’s do a meetup in your town.

I've built and sold multiple creator economy startups to top media companies - including Discovery and Paramount. Subscribe for free to get this newsletter every Monday.

Let me know what you think – email me at [email protected]. Thanks for reading and see you around the internet.