Goalhanger, the media company behind the podcast network of the same name, is venturing out into the world of investment, having launched Goalhanger Ventures to fund the future media giants of tomorrow.
The launch represents another major development in the evolution of the creator economy. Creators used to simply generate content for others to distribute. Today, they are being seen as the founders of businesses with audiences, IP, and commercial potential.
Goalhanger Ventures’ Goal: Invest in Scalable Creator-Owned Media Brands
Goalhanger’s new venture arm looks to invest in creators and media brands with existing audience traction who are in need of infrastructure to grow their business. That could come in a variety of forms such as investment, content creation, production, commercialization strategies, sponsorships, merchandising, and long-form intellectual property.
In April, the company announced its expansion strategy with the introduction of The Accelerator, a funded three-month incubator program for emerging digital creators. The accelerator offered creators up to £10,000 worth of content investment along with other resources for developing intellectual property.
In light of those developments, it seems safe to say that Goalhanger Ventures is the next evolution of the company’s creator investment strategy where it looks to take a direct stake in creator-owned businesses with the potential to scale.
Goalhanger Ventures’ First Deal Is With Invisible Media
Goalhanger Ventures’ latest deal is a minority investment into Invisible Media, a digital media platform created by Charlie Tymon that covers economics, business, geopolitics, and culture. According to Goalhanger Ventures, Invisible Media is creating content that makes complex subjects accessible and relatable for younger viewers.
The company has recently announced plans to develop The Invisible Game, a long form show that aims to explore the economic principles behind everything and how different choices affect our lives and businesses.
The investment demonstrates a broader trend in creator-led media. While educational and analysis-driven content has typically been seen as purely academic and theoretical, when done right it has the potential to become a commercially viable product if delivered in the right way.
Deal: Goalhanger Partners With Cricket-Centric Brand Backyard Cricket
The other notable deal from Goalhanger Ventures is a partnership with Backyard Cricket, a digital media platform created by James and Mark Wood, two Yorkshire brothers. During the pandemic, the duo took up making YouTube videos covering all things cricket and managed to create quite an audience around themselves.
Through this new agreement, Goalhanger will invest and support Backyard Cricket’s commercialization, helping the brand to build upon its existing strengths by producing longer form content, securing sponsorships, and commercializing merchandising products.
The two parties will share revenues earned from the partnership.
For Backyard Cricket, this is another step forward towards sustainability and monetization. And Goalhanger, too, gets to apply its own production and monetization experience to yet another niche audience.
Why This Is Big for the Creator Economy
The announcement of Goalhanger Ventures means that creator-led media brands are evolving into investable assets. Traditionally, creators used to get most of their income from platform monetization schemes or brand deals.
However, today’s media companies and investors are increasingly recognizing creator-led brands as the foundation for future media ventures. This is particularly interesting for creators with dedicated followers and a clear editorial voice.
Instead of simply licensing the content they create or negotiating talent deals, creators now have an opportunity to form entire companies around themselves and scale their brands.
According to Goalhanger’s co-founder Jack Davenport, the aim of the partnership is to grow creator-led brands while ensuring that their core attributes like independence, personality, and editorial integrity remain intact.
It is an interesting challenge and the kind that creators face every day. On one hand, the growth of an audience leads to more monetization opportunities. On the other hand, scaling means the risk of diluting the originality that brought creators success in the first place.
Goalhanger’s Success Lends Credibility to New Venture Arm
Goalhanger is one of the leading podcasts and media companies at the moment. Last year, the company racked up over 750 million views and listens across its network of 15 shows and expanded its paid members’ base to more than 250,000.
Earlier this year, the company scored its first external investment with The Chernin Group buying out a minority stake in the company.
That leaves Goalhanger Ventures well placed to invest in or partner with creator-led media brands. As it grows bigger, the company continues to be involved in a wider trend where podcast networks and media firms seek investments into digital-first media brands.
Creators Create Their Own Media Firms
At this point, we have all grown accustomed to creator-led media brands. However, what we see now is just the tip of the iceberg. More and more creators start branching out, developing newsletters, hosting podcasts, creating memberships, organizing live events, producing merchandise, and building production studios. Some even found entire media companies around their names.
In terms of income, creators are finding multiple ways to monetize their audiences. Meanwhile, for media firms, the appeal of creator-led media brands is obvious – these platforms tend to have a built-in audience and are cheaper to scale than traditional media brands.
Conclusion
Goalhanger Ventures is a testament to how far the creator economy has come in recent years. Through a pair of investments, the company shows that creator-led media brands have the capacity for much more than just audience building.
As more creators decide to monetize their content through forming their own companies, partnerships such as the one with Backyard Cricket will become more and more prevalent.
