Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is allegedly parting ways with talent management company Night Media.
Per Semafor, the creator, who is the most-followed individual on YouTube with over 256 million subscribers, recently told Night Media that it would no longer be his primary talent management firm.
According to two anonymous sources privy to the conversation, Donaldson is allegedly taking “increasingly personal control” over his multi-million dollar media empire.
Why is MrBeast leaving Night Media?
When MrBeast first signed with Night Media in 2019, the company was your run-of-the-mill talent management and marketing agency. Back when MrBeast had only 14 million subscribers, Night reportedly helped him secure brand deals and assisted him with “branding, licensing, and content distribution.”
But things have changed since then. MrBeast has become a multi-millionaire and behemoth in the creator economy, launching his Feastables food brand (with some challenges) and earning more than $600 million in revenue a year.
This news also comes after the creator recently announced a pivot toward slower-paced, longer-form storytelling. He also just sold his reality TV show Beast Games to Amazon Prime Video, marking his first (and probably not the last) major Hollywood deal.
What does this mean for Night?
It’s fair to say Night Media has made some pretty major moves lately, too. Along with gaining notable clients like Kai Cenat, ZHC, and Safiya Nygaard over the years, the company also purchased The Roost Podcast Network from Warner Bros Discovery on April 8.
According to Deadline, Night Media has retained the majority of the Network’s staff. As the home to popular podcasts like “This Past Weekend With Theo Von,” this is a pretty big deal and suggests the company is trying to evolve.
But does MrBeast want to be part of that evolution? His parting ways with the company suggests the answer is ‘no,’ especially as the ink has barely dried on the Night Media/Roost deal.
Representatives for MrBeast and Night Media didn’t immediately respond to Passionfruit’s request for comment via email.
