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MrBeast Taking Control: Why The $600M YouTuber Has Parted Ways With His Manager

Jimmy Donaldson, the 25-year-old YouTube superstar better known as MrBeast, is parting ways with his long-time talent management company, Night Media. Two people briefed on the situation told Semafor that Donaldson informed Night recently that the company would no longer be his primary management agency. 

“Reed has been with me since early on and has helped us grow to where we are,” Donaldson told Bloomberg. “As the company develops and our needs change, he and I continue to have a great relationship. At this point, it makes sense to put full focus into the growth of Feastables and for me to start building my own internal team.”

Night Media did not respond to requests for comment, though the company expects to maintain an ongoing, non-exclusive relationship with Donaldson.

Donaldson, who claimed last year his YouTube operations generated over $600 million in annual revenue, began working with Night founder Reed Duchscher in February 2018, seeking help monetizing his growing YouTube channel. Duchscher had publicly praised their “great relationship” previously, though acknowledged they “sometimes bicker like an old married couple.”

However, strains emerged when Donaldson asked Duchscher to take over his Feastables food brand last year. Issues included Duchscher’s insistence on operating his management company independently and his refusal to relocate from Austin to Donaldson’s base in Greenville, North Carolina.

According to Semafor, the move represents a setback for Night Media, which has rapidly grown by highlighting its role in MrBeast’s success. The company has expanded to over 65 clients from just 10 in 2020. It formed investment firm Night Capital with $100 million from The Chernin Group to acquire consumer businesses partnering with top creators.

While his virtual burger chain MrBeast Burger faced troubles, Donaldson recently made his first major TV deal by selling the competition series Beast Games to Amazon’s Prime Video.

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David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.

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