Many followers of Cody Ko and Noel Miller — aka the Tiny Meat Gang — know the 2 former Vine stars for his or her freewheeling YouTube video collabs. However the coronary heart of their entrepreneurial endeavors lies in podcasting, and Ko and Miller’s fledgling Tiny Meat Gang Studios is aiming to plant a flag as a next-generation comedy podcast community.
They fashioned Tiny Meat Gang Studios in October 2021, anchored by their flagship “Tiny Meat Gang Podcast.” Ko and Miller debuted the podcast in 2017 — after YouTube was demonetizing their movies for profanity, they usually had been searching for a brand new income. The weekly present is cut up into two elements: 60 minutes can be found free with adverts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and different audio platforms; the second hour is accessible solely to subscribers (through tmgstudios.television).
At the moment, TMG Studios produces seven reveals from its LA-based studio and employs 12 full-time staffers, and its podcasts have greater than 200 million downloads up to now. The mission, in response to Ko, is to function an incubator for a brand new era of comedic expertise.
“We reached a degree the place we determined to take what we discovered from our present and make investments it in different reveals,” stated Ko. Creating unique podcasts is “extra of a threat” than partnering with established podcasts, he says, as a result of it requires an even bigger upfront funding, however the TMG Studios workforce sees extra upside in creating their very own mental property.
The corporate is welcoming inbound pitches to indicate concepts. “We need to hear all of them,” Ko says. Miller says there are two elements they’re searching for in a venture: that the podcast is “genuine to you” and is centered round a particular topic.
The companions have leveraged their web fanbases to advertise the enterprise and it reveals: Ko, 32, has greater than 14 million followers throughout platforms and Miller, 33, has over 8 million followers.
Along with the namesake present, the present TMG Studios podcast slate contains:
- “Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast”: Hosts Brooke Averick and Connor Wooden break down popular culture’s largest moments, sharing sizzling takes and pushing one another’s buttons.
- “Foul Tip”: Ex-Vine stars Zachary Piona and Wahlid Mohammad speak about all issues sports activities.
- “The Trillionaire Mindset”: Hosted by Wall Avenue dealer Ben Cahn and his skeptical finest buddy, Emil DeRosa, the duo take a comedic crack on the worlds of enterprise, politics and finance.
- “Insanely Chill”: Solo present hosted by Ko through which he discusses present occasions.
- “8 Ball”: Ko and Miller workforce with “Trillionaire Mindset’s” Cahn and DeRosa (“4 Guys = 8 Balls”) in a comedy particular sequence.
- “Meat Locker”: Launched in November, the video podcast is a component live-action, half animated, with the TMG Studios founders teaming with YouTube animator MeatCanyon that includes friends who “might not be their actual selves.”
Miller and Ko (whose full surname is Kolodziejzyk) met once they had been working as software program engineers at Creator Community Fullscreen. Their comedic sensibilities clicked they usually started producing the “That is Cringe” commentary sequence. “Unknowingly, we had been piloting our podcast,” says Miller.
The “Tiny Meat Gang” identify has a ribald origin story. In a single early episode, the duo had been riffing on the bizarre concept of an “unborn youngster as an fboy” posing in a sonogram, in response to Miller. “I offhand stated, ‘tiny meat alley!’ — and the identify caught.
Along with TMG Studios, the 2 proceed to supply content material for YouTube and different platforms. “We each have our personal social media presence, and we all know how one can deal with every particular person channel with respect,” Ko says. Their enterprise ventures additionally embrace merchandise and stay reveals, with the pair having staged in a sold-out comedy/rap tour in 2021. Subsequent 12 months, Miller is launching a 65-city worldwide comedy tour, kicking off Jan. 12, 2023, titled “Every little thing Is F#&ked” (extra information at noelmillerlive.com).
Ko and Miller are repped by UTA, which has assisted within the growth of TMG Studios. “As somebody who has had the privilege of representing Cody and Noel from the beginning of their careers, I’ve seen them develop their roles past comedians to enterprise homeowners, entrepreneurs and trailblazers inside the creator financial system,” says Mahzad Babayan, digital expertise agent at UTA. “It is monumental that they’ve launched a platform the place fellow artistic voices can have the instruments and help to make actual and genuine content material for his or her audiences.”
Provides UTA audio agent AJ Leone, “Serving to Tiny Meat Gang develop their enterprise and evolve from a preferred present into a longtime community has been a thrill. I am trying ahead to our continued partnership as they determine new voices and produce contemporary tales to listeners throughout comedy, finance, sports activities and extra genres.”
Whilst they broaden their podcast biz, the core “Tiny Meat Gang Podcast” continues in its unique format, Ko says: “It is what we have at all times accomplished — two buddies riffing and messing round about what is going on on in popular culture.” The present, which targets a core viewers of listeners 18-24, could seem random and spontaneous. However the guys say they’re deliberate about growing every episode with components together with unique sketches, particular friends and present giveaways. “We make an lively effort to offer that leisure,” says Miller.
Pictured above (l. to r.): Cody Ko, Noel Miller