Kast Media‘s shady dealings have earned it the ire of creators, and a lawsuit could soon follow. Investigative YouTuber Coffeezilla took a deep dive into Kast’s financials after comedian Theo Von claimed that the podcast network defrauded its partners out of $4 million.
The official website for Kast Media describes it as “one of the fastest growing and most exciting podcast networks and publishers in podcasting.” Kast built its library by making deals with comedians (including Von and Whitney Cummings), athletes (Brandon Schaub), and writers (Jim Cornette).
In July, word began to spread about Kast’s financial woes. Cornette revealed that the network owed him payments and was threatening to declare bankruptcy. Von threw fuel on the fire in September by raising his own nonpayment claims. He said that Kast owed its partners “up to $4 million” in total.
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Just wanted to warn folks about @colinpthomson. This man defrauded our podcast and others. Thank you all for your support! pic.twitter.com/wh8gLIE0Bn
— Theo Von (@TheoVon) September 6, 2023
Coffeezilla’s video includes input from the aggrieved podcasters as well as Kast Founder and CEO Colin Thomson. His investigation showed that Kast had a plan to get its creators paid: It wanted them to sign up with a separate entity called PodcastOne so that it could avoid bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Kast’s internal operations were plagued by numerous issues, including shady accounting and broken promises to partners.
In an episode of his Drive Thru podcast, Cornette noted that money was flowing into Kast — it just wasn’t coming out. “The advertisers paid them. The financial problems aren’t because they weren’t getting the money in that they expected,” Cornette said. “The problems were outside of that. It never got to us.”
The chaos at Kast may remind longtime online video viewers of the downfall of Defy Media, when a major digital network defrauded creators out of significant sums. In the conclusion of his video, Coffeezilla reminds viewers not to jump at eye-popping promises or gaudy dollar amounts. “Do not trust people with your business who promise you the world,” he says. “In fact, usually that’s the worst red flag.”
At least one of the aggrieved podcasters plans to take legal action against Kast. When asked whether he will sue the network, Von replied that he is “on it.”
