Studio71 Launches Talent Management Division, Signs ‘Storror’, ‘Come Curious’

Studio71, like Fullscreen before it, has announced the launch of a 360-degree talent management unit, signalling an evolution of sorts within the multi-channel network industry towards working in closer capacity with a smaller number of creators.

Studio71’s new talent management unit is called Moxie and will operate out of its U.K. headquarters. (Studio71 is owned by Red Arrow Studios — a division of the German media conglomerate ProSiebenSat.1). Moxie will seek to help its roster “break from their original platforms and reach greater audiences,” according to a release, as well as connect creators with strategists, brands, broadcasters, and more.

Traditionally, multi-channel networks (MCNs) like Fullscreen and Studio71 have partnered with wide swaths of channels on a less intimate basis to assist in areas like brand deals, rights management, and audience growth. That said, Fullscreen and Studio71’s forays into 360 management showcase the ways that these relationships are changing.

Studio71 has previously managed a small number of individual creators in the U.K., Germany, and the United States. Moxie, which has been in the works for a year, represents the company’s first brand dedicated to talent management.

At launch, Moxie’s client roster comprises underrepresented voices across various content categories, says Studio71, including sports, fashion, lifestyle, and family. For instance, Moxie has signed seven-piece parkour team Storror (3.6 million subscribers); sex creators Come Curious

 (70,000 subscribers); documentarian Niko Omilana (567,000 subscribers); family channels King Kenny (1.6 million), TheNewAdamanB99 (1.8 million), and Dad V Girls (370,000); and lifestyle stars Alizey Mirza (110,000 Instagram followers), Unknown Vlogs (420,000 subscribers), and Carl Thompson (9,000 subscribers).

Moxie will be led by Grace O’Reilly, who will serve as director of talent strategy, Rebecca Dowell will serve as talent strategy manager, and Marlene Juenck has been named head of talent.

“The world doesn’t need any more photoshopped influencers or plates of food,” James Stafford, Studio71 U.K.’s managing director, said in a statement. “We wanted to pursue diversity as a business model — assisting great creators to make lasting social content and then amplifying this through our work with brands and broadcasters.”

While Moxie will serve as a talent incubator, Studio71 notes that it will continue to produce original content aimed squarely at 18 to 24-year-olds, set for distribution on TV, digital, and podcasts. Most recently, the company produced an 18-part series for the History channel in the U.K. starring the YouTuber Alec Steele called Forged With Steele, as well as two podcasts — Power Hour with Adrienne Herbert and F**ks Given by Come Curious — which debuted in the top 10 of the iTunes podcast charts.