Building Creator-Owned Media with Stella Young of Tiny Legends and This Is TV Now

What happens when a YouTube creator mindset collides with traditional podcasting?

For Stella Young, the answer is a completely different way of thinking about audience growth, monetization, and ownership.

As the founder of Tiny Legends and co-host of This Is TV Now alongside Dane Cardiel, Stella entered podcasting after years in the YouTube ecosystem. What she found was an industry that often viewed creators, influencers, and audience relationships very differently than digital media.

"If you have a big Patreon, you're making more money than the biggest podcast from ads. I'm a big believer in people helping people. That's where the money is."

In this episode, Stella shares lessons from producing comedy podcasts, working with creators and celebrities, launching viral content strategies, and building a production company focused on quality over quantity. She also offers a candid look at the realities of podcast production, the challenges of pricing creative work, and why she believes the future belongs to creator-owned media.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Why Stella believes memberships outperform advertising for many creators
• The differences between YouTube culture and podcast industry culture
• How Tiny Legends built a reputation through viral podcast clips
• Why social media audiences and podcast audiences are often different products
• The rise of video-first podcast strategies
• Creator ownership, audience control, and intellectual property
• The challenges of producing celebrity-driven podcasts
• Building a sustainable production company
• Why many podcast producers struggle to charge what they're worth
• The launch and mission behind This Is TV Now
• What podcasting can learn from digital creators and influencers

Connect with Stella Young

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellatheproducer https://www.instagram.com/tinylegends.prod

Tiny Legends https://www.tinylegends.media

This Is TV Now https://www.thisistvnow.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-young

About Stella Young

Stella Young is the founder of Tiny Legends, a production company specializing in creator-led content, podcast production, and digital media strategy. With roots in the YouTube creator ecosystem, Stella has worked across live events, comedy podcasts, social media, and content production. She is also the co-host of This Is TV Now, a new podcast exploring the intersection of creators, entertainment, internet culture, and the future of media.

Episode Chapters

(01:44) Where Is the Money in Podcasting?

(05:20) What Podcasting Gets Wrong About Creators

(13:31) From YouTube and Live Events to Podcast Production

(18:23) Why Podcast Clips Became a Growth Engine

(20:23) The Difference Between Viral Clips and Podcast Downloads

(22:12) Building Tiny Legends

(25:03) Celebrity Podcasts and Authenticity

(27:12) Video-First Podcasting and Membership Revenue

(34:44) Launching This Is TV Now

(39:46) Producer Pay, Transparency, and Industry Challenges

(51:56) What Stella Would Do Differently Starting Over

(54:26) The Future of Creator-Owned Media

Some Additional PodBiz Buzz"The future is podcasters becoming influencers and going directly to brands and audiences.""I was pretty early on the clip train. I was like, we need to do a really good clip every day.""I think the best way for creators is people funding people.""Embracing this mentality gives creators more control over their audience, their IP, and the way they build their business.""I think the future belongs to creators who own their relationship with their audience."

PodBiz is the podcast about the business of podcasting. Hosted by industry veterans Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan, the show features conversations with creators, executives, and platform leaders to answer one question: Where’s the money in podcasting?

Each episode dives into monetization strategy, adtech, branded content, IP development, and audience growth. Guests include leaders from Acast, Captivate, Crooked Media, Buzzsprout, True Native Media, Podfest, and more.

Learn more: njbmedia.co | thepodhouseproductions.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.