School drop-outs turned YouTube pioneers. Sketch comedy. An ill-advised acquisition. The (nearly) downfall of a beloved comedy model. The Smosh story has all of it.
Based 19 years in the past (sure, actually,) Smosh is an OG YouTube channel that has skilled its justifiable share of turmoil through the years. However what occurred to this iconic channel? And the place are its founders now? Let’s examine.
What’s a “Smosh”? And why are they fashionable?
Based in 2005 by childhood buddies Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, Smosh is likely one of the best-known YouTube channels of all time. Significantly — Smosh has over 26M subscribers and has loved not only one however three durations because the most-subscribed channel (in 2006, 2008, and 2013.)
Whereas the duo experimented with content material through the years, they’re greatest identified for his or her comedy skits. It’s no shock that their most-watched video, with 108M views, is a parody advert for a beef product you possibly can eat on the go, appropriately named Beef ‘n Go.
This irreverent humor, laced with references to different web memes, tapped into the 2000s zeitgeist, catapulting Smosh and its binge-able comedy shorts to fame within the on-line comedy world.
Smosh’s (nearly) downfall
Sadly, the Smosh story isn’t all viral movies and epic memes. In 2011, Smosh was acquired by Alloy Digital (later Defy Media) for inventory. This granted Padilla and Hecox entry to the assets they wanted to develop the channel to its full potential, and for a couple of years, every part gave the impression to be going nice! The duo launched new channels and sequence, grew their solid, and even branched out into new areas like cellular apps.
Then, in 2017, information broke that shocked followers to their cores; Padilla determined to go away Smosh, citing an absence of inventive freedom. Because it turned out, having a dad or mum firm additionally meant letting go of full inventive management over the channel you’d spent the previous decade pouring your coronary heart and soul into.
However the drama didn’t finish there. In 2018, Defy Media immediately shut down, leaving Smosh and not using a house. Padilla took this chance to disclose that Defy Media had been financially exploitative and that the inventory Smosh offered for was by no means value something, as the corporate by no means went personal.
How Smosh acquired its groove again
Fortunately for the Smosh crew and its ever-loyal fandom, Legendary Leisure, based by fellow YouTubers Rhett and Hyperlink, acquired the enterprise in 2018. This transfer supplied Smosh with the help it wanted to get again on its proverbial ft and proceed creating content material.
And the story doesn’t finish there! In 2023, two main twists shook the Smosh group in fast succession. First, Padilla could be rejoining the workforce. Second, Hecox and Padilla could be repurchasing a majority stake of their enterprise within the “first creator-to-creator acquisition of its type,” in response to Rhett and Hyperlink.
18 years after Smosh first launched and 12 years after it was offered for nugatory shares, Smosh was as soon as once more an impartial entity, permitting the duo to return to creating the kind of content material they wished to provide all alongside. Oh, the nostalgia!
Our takeaway: to promote or to not promote?
There are various learnings creators like you possibly can take away from this cautionary story. However probably the most consequential is that this:
When negotiating a enterprise partnership, at all times take the time to grasp the total implications — each optimistic and unfavourable — on your model.
The professionals are intensive. Enterprise partnerships, from model sponsorships to full-scale acquisitions, are an effective way for up-and-coming creators to entry the monetary assets they should develop.
However as we’ve seen within the case of Smosh, monetary help from a 3rd occasion nearly at all times comes with strings connected. These investing in your small business will anticipate to have a say in all content material produced, as they’ve pretty much as good as bought the precise to veto concepts and information strategic course.
This creates a dilemma for creators and begs the query: What’s extra necessary, having access to monetary assets or retaining full inventive management over your model?
For extra tips about how to decide on your model companions, try our article on the subject.
