This is How Much Ex-NELK Podcaster Made

Read Time6 min 42 sec

What’s up everyone! Welcome to our channel. This is Creator Business. We’re the weekly newsletter that will look at you funny if you’re like this ghost.  

Here’s what the algorithm was pushing last week:

• Ex-NELK podcaster Bob Menery departure and fued

• Sidemen invest in ghost hotels

• Mr. Beast's Feastables take on the halloween candy market

EX-NELK PODCAST HOST MADE $1.2M IN 10 MONTHS

We’re full sending our first story, taking you to the Bob Menery and NELK controversy that somehow gave us a look at how much some of the top podcasts make.

What is a NELK and why are we fully sending?   

The NELK Boys are a group of YouTube pranksters/partiers who have seen tremendous success filming their stunts and antics. Since starting their channel in 2010, they’ve grown their brand through a variety of business ventures:

• Happy Dad Seltzer

• Full Send Supplements

• Full Send Merch

• Full Send Meta Card NFT (an NFT that gets you access to exclusive events)

Full Send is the name of their brand and podcast. Started 1.5 years ago, the show is massively popular with each episode getting millions of views and streams. They’ve even featured guests like Elon Musk, Mike Tyson, and Shaq.

So what’s the controversy?

Bob Menery, a former host on NELK’s Full Send Podcast, recently left the show he helped get off the ground. Bob left after getting into a disagreement about his contract and how much he should be getting paid, claiming it wasn’t enough.

Bob went on TikTok demanding to be paid his money, saying the group “slit his throat”. He claimed he was owed thousands of dollars and an equity stake in their seltzer brand, Happy Dad, which is heavily promoted on the show.

NELK bites back 

In response, NELK’s partier-in-chief Kyle Forgeard (aka NELK co-founder and Full Send Podcast co-host), shared details of Bob’s contract on Instagram Stories to prove that Bob had been, in fact, paid a lofty $1.2M over 10 months.

Here’s a breakdown of what that $1.2M looked like:

• 30% of ad revenue from the show

• $7.5K per episode

• 50% of Full Send podcast merch profits

• All show-related expenses covered

• Pretty sweet, huh?

See below for a photo of the contract. We’re pretty sure the lol was not a part of the contract though… or maybe it was? This is NELK we’re talking about, after all 🤷‍♂️

Reacting To: Bob Menery and NELK drama 

We rarely get to see actual deal terms on how much these podcast hosts are paid and how it’s structured.

Bob is claiming his lawyers are preparing to take legal action, and it’s totally understandable. If he was owed even 1% of Happy Dad, and the brand sells for $1B one day, that’s $10M on the line.

This should be a reminder to creators to always be fully comfortable with every deal term in your contract before starting work for a brand. Unfortunately, once you’ve signed there’s not much you can do.

SIDEMEN INVEST IN HOTEL VERSION OF GHOST KITCHENS

The Sidemen, the biggest YouTube group in the UK, are planning to launch ghost hotels.

No, not the haunted kind (this isn’t Buzzfeed Unsolved) – we’re talking the hotel version of ghost kitchens, where an unbranded kitchen makes food from a bunch of different restaurants. But instead of Beast Burgers, Sidemen Sides, and Faze Subs, it would be, like, hotel rooms… get it?

I don’t get it – what’s a ghost hotel?

Honestly, we’re not really sure. There hasn’t been much detail on what this really is, but we’re thinking it’s a hotel with individually themed rooms.

What’s important is that the digital world is finally spilling into the real, physical world. Last week, we talked about Dude Perfect’s new mega HQ. Now, you can also experience the Sidemen world in real life.

They’re planning on opening their themed hotel in the summer of 2023.

Who even thought of this? 

This project has been a result of the group’s management team, Arcade Media and Ghsthotels. Ghsthotels is a startup that plans to launch hotels inspired by entrepreneurs, creators, and personalities.

The Sidemen will also invest in Ghsthotels by participating in its first funding round.

The Sidemen difference

My rich aunt tells me she’ll only stay at hotels that have been approved by the Sidemen. Just kidding, but maybe it’ll be true one day.

The Sidemen x Ghsthotels establishment will boast personalized welcome messages, technological advancements, and rooms designed with “trademark Sidemen touches” in mind.

This is not the first business venture for the Sidemen – they’ve also previously launched Sides, a fried chicken restaurant chain delivered through Deliveroo and UberEats, and their premium vodka brand, XIX.

Reacting To: Sidemen and GhstHotels 

In creator monetization, there are three levels.

• Level 1 is getting paid cash to promote another brand.

• Level 2 is getting paid in equity to promote a brand you have ownership.

• Level 3 is launching your own brand from the ground-up and retaining full ownership.

The Sidemen-Ghsthotels partnership seems to fit between Levels 2 and 3.

Combine a dedicated operational team (Ghsthotels) with an unbeatable marketing machine (Sidemen Productions), and you have a winning business.

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MR. BEAST'S FEASTABLES LAUNCH HALLOWEEN CORPSE BAR

Should we just call this section Mr. Beast Updates? Maybe, because this man doesn’t seem to have a pause button.

With Halloween right around the corner, Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) wants you to celebrate spooky season by eating a Corpse (Bar).

His snack brand, Feastables, recently released a new chocolate bar called the “Corpse Bar”, just in time for Halloween. It’s a collab with Corpse Husband, the faceless streamer who has a real deep, scary voice.

This is a cookies-and-crème flavoured dessert with a blood-red colour and white chocolate base. Advertised as the more nutritious – but still cool – alternative to big brands like Hershey’s, this will be Feastables’ first creator-collab product.

Sounds pretty ghoul, right? 

Feastables recently expanded its presence at Walmart, but the Corpse Bar is only available through the Feastables website. A box of ten bars retails for $29.99. Customers who buy three boxes together receive a $15 discount and a Feastables t-shirt.

Between October 10 and Halloween, Corpse Bar buyers will also be entered into a giveaway. The prize is a “Corpse hoodie,” which will be delivered to 25 winners.

Reacting To: Feastables Corpse Bar

There’s no better feeling than going up to the “big houses” as a kid on Halloween and getting a great haul… full-sized chocolate bars, generous portions, and diverse types of treats. So this is what it's like to be in the 1%, huh?

Now imagine getting a MrBeast Corpse Bar. My mind is blown even as a full-grown adult. 

Also on the FYP

• TikTok Trainspotting Sensation Francis Bourgeois to Host Channel 4 Digital Series on Trains

• Hasbulla says he has 'officially signed a deal to fight in the UFC'

• French YouTuber Squeezie organized an event where 22 different streamers raced each other in F4 cars

That's all for now. See ya next week! 

About Calvin Caracciolo, Editor-in-Chief of Creator Business

Calvin Caracciolo is a content creator who keeps you up to date with the fast-moving world of business in the creator economy. He’s also a really great guy!

Contact him about anything creator economy related at [email protected]. Follow him at tiktok.com/@calvincaracciolo and subscribe to his YouTube channel if Shorts are more of your thing.