MrBeast’s membership push echoes early media conglomerate playbook

MrBeast’s plans to launch a membership platform mirror the playbook once used by cable television giants that built entire channel ecosystems around audience segmentation, according to an industry observer who attended the company’s recent brand briefing.

Bryce Adams, US influencer lead at The Goat Agency, said the move reflects how top creators are beginning to operate less like talent and more like fully-fledged media companies.

“What MrBeast is doing by launching new content verticals is very similar,” Adams told The Daily Influence. “He has built high credibility and one of the most valuable IP ecosystems on the market today, which gives him permission to expand into new categories and formats.”

He compared the strategy to the peak cable television era, when media conglomerates built multiple channels around different audience interests.

“Viacom had MTV for mainstream pop culture, VH1 for music lovers, BET for emerging hip hop and multicultural audiences, and Comedy Central for comedy,” he said. “One platform could no longer cater to diversified audience interest.”

Last week, MrBeast – real name Jimmy Donaldson – unveiled plans for a membership programme during an invite-only breakfast attended by brands, advertising executives and industry insiders. Beast Industries executives reportedly described the initiative as an ambition to build the “largest membership service in the world.”

According to attendees who spoke to Business Insider, the programme would include early access to videos, exclusive content, philanthropic initiatives and member-only challenges. Representatives from Coca-Cola, KFC, NBCUniversal, Samsung, Disney and Lamborghini attended the event.

Donaldson also outlined plans to expand into new content categories, beginning with food this summer before branching into entertainment, fitness and gaming. Executives discussed ambitions spanning a mobile phone service featuring exclusive content, financial services through its acquisition of the Step app, and continued growth of Feastables.

The company also highlighted Vyro, its clipping platform designed to help brands distribute content across a wider creator network.

“The general gist is they’re trying to get out of being a YouTube channel,” David Cohen, chief executive of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, told Business Insider after attending the event.

Donaldson’s main YouTube channel has nearly 500 million subscribers and reportedly reached 1.3 billion unique users – roughly 15% of the global population – over a recent 90-day period.

Creators taking control

The membership push reflects a broader shift among top creators towards building owned ecosystems and direct audience relationships, reducing their dependence on any single platform.

Adams said ongoing algorithm changes have made diversification less of a growth strategy and more of a necessity.

“With ongoing changes to algorithms, building owned ecosystems has increasingly become a tool for survival,” he said.

“Creators will, and should, always remain anchored on social platforms. But every channel they operate should serve a specific purpose within their broader ecosystem.”

He argued the shift is accelerating a wider transformation in how creators position themselves commercially.

“Brand ambassadorships are no longer simply about ‘X number of posts on Y platform over Z amount of time’”, Adams said.

Instead, he said, partnerships are increasingly built around how brands integrate into a creator’s wider ecosystem spanning podcasts, livestreams, memberships, merchandise, owned products, newsletters and IRL experiences.

“The Beast model of aggregating all of that content and fandom into his own paid platform is one of the most advanced examples we’ve seen so far, but he certainly won’t be the last to bring that model in-house.”

Adams argued traditional media companies are increasingly recognising that audience growth is no longer driven solely through owned distribution channels.

“If you are the Golf Channel, for example, you can no longer speak only to golfers in order to grow your audience,” he said. “You need to speak to luxury, travel, fashion, and all of the crossover interests that serve as on-ramps to fandom and viewership.”

“Creators allow brands and media companies to start those conversations by sitting at the intersection of trusted information, discovery and entertainment for their audiences,” he added.

Donaldson previously outlined ambitions for a subscription platform in a 2021 pitch deck, describing a $9.95-per-month service called Beast World featuring exclusive content, merchandise, community features and experiences. The project never materialised.

The latest briefing underlines how the world’s biggest creators are increasingly competing directly with traditional entertainment companies for audience attention, consumer spending and advertising budgets – territory once dominated almost exclusively by legacy media groups.