- Business Insider is recognizing the leaders who are helping shape the careers of YouTube influencers in 2019.
- We are highlighting 14 power players of talent management, based on who is successfully assisting creators in their digital businesses.
- These talent managers help their clients diversify their online brands, build lasting partnerships with companies through influencer marketing campaigns, and even develop consumer products.
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YouTube creators are dominating the influencer space, with millions of followers and brand deals that earn them strong incomes.
Each year, new creators are breaking into the industry, and the demand for managers to help them sustain their success and growth has increased.
Business Insider is recognizing the power players who are helping shape the careers of these stars in 2019. In this inaugural list, we are highlighting the top 14 YouTube talent managers who are assisting creators with their digital brands and businesses.
These talent managers help their clients diversify their online brands and build lasting partnerships with companies through influencer marketing campaigns. They also often assist their clients in developing consumer products and merchandise, which has been popular among influencers in 2019.
The landscape has changed over the past few years as YouTube has evolved as a platform.
The once popular multichannel networks (or MCNs) that dominated the online-talent space — signing up hundreds, and even thousands, of clients — have experienced a decline, with some major players shutting down.
As this shift has happened, firms with smaller rosters of top clients have risen to the forefront. These new power players have developed expertise in the many facets of the influencer world in 2019.
They advise clients against promoting products that could damage their careers and help in operating companies and selling direct-to-consumer products. Some even own product lines under venture arms.
Reed Duchscher, who managers creators like MrBeast (24 million YouTube subscribers), told Business Insider that he focuses on helping clients create and structure new businesses and build out their internal teams.
“One core reason I think YouTube talent managers are important is due to the fact that most successful channels are run by young people,” he said. “We’re seeing 15- and 16-year-old kids garner hundreds of millions of views each month, before they even graduate high school. We help them avoid the pitfalls of working through this industry.”
Managers earn revenue by receiving a cut of the influencer’s earnings, which typically ranges from 10 to 20%, depending on how much the manager does for the client, according to industry insiders.
To form this list, Business Insider relied on a mix of our own reporting, nominations from readers, and industry experts to narrow down the finalists. We chose them based on their experience in the YouTube influencer space, their responsibilities, and their influences on the business of being a creator.
The power players are listed in alphabetical order: