Arcade, the management company behind YouTube group The Sidemen, has signed a slate of new creators as it relaunches as a full entertainment business ahead of Europe’s first creator upfront in London.
Comedian Max Fosh, creator collective Friends From Work, John Nellis, Faith Kelly, Generation Football and Fallow Chefs have all joined the company. The Sidemen — whose lineup recently changed when member KSI exited — will continue with Arcade as well.
The relaunch reframes Arcade’s mission: turning Europe’s most popular creators into media brands that operate across content, commerce and culture, with IP development taking a more central role.
New Signings Across Comedy, Food and Sport
Arcade’s new roster spans several genres:
- Max Fosh, comedian
- Friends From Work, a creator collective comprising Arthur Frederick, Arthur Hill, George Clarkey and ItalianBach
- John Nellis
- Faith Kelly
- Generation Football
- Fallow Chefs
Jack Croft and Will Murray, who co-founded upmarket London restaurant Fallow and run the Fallow Chefs channel, said the move fits their approach. “We built Fallow by ripping up the rulebook – and we’ve tried to do the same with everything we post,” they said. “Signing with Arcade makes sense because it’s a team built by creators, for creators, that lives and breathes the creator economy the way we live and breathe restaurants. We’re thrilled to be joining forces – we’ve got a lot of ambitious ideas, and now we’ve got the right people to help us pull them off.”
Europe’s First Creator Upfront
Today Arcade is hosting Europe’s first creator media upfront at an invite-only event in London. The event is expected to draw over 150 advertisers, brands and partner businesses, who will get exclusive previews of creator content slates, audience data and insights — a format similar to the U.S. NewFronts.
| What’s on offer | Details |
|---|---|
| Content slates | Exclusive previews of creator programming across the roster |
| Audience data | Insights into viewership and engagement metrics |
Matt Elek, Arcade’s CEO, framed the event as proof of the company’s momentum. “Arcade is executing an ambitious growth strategy to become the dominant player in the creator economy in Europe, which is demonstrated by our incredible new line-up of creator media partners,” he said. “We’ve built the entertainment company that creators actually need, and the wider market is only now starting to catch up.”
Building Media Brands
The company’s pitch is that creators now function less like individual personalities and more like full-scale media operations.
“Creators aren’t just building channels anymore, they’re building entire media brands — long-form, IP, live, branded entertainment,” said Schwartzenberger. “Arcade gives our partners access to the biggest creator media brands in Europe, which operate with the same scale and sophistication as a broadcaster or streamer, but with the trust and audience reach only these elite creators have.”
That framing explains the upfront format. Rather than pitching individual videos or sponsorship deals, Arcade is presenting entire content slates — the kind of programming calendar a broadcaster would show advertisers, but built around YouTube creators.
Lumina’s Minority Stake
Lumina Media holds a minority stake in Arcade following a seven-figure investment. The funding arrived alongside the hiring of former Vice exec Matt Elek as CEO, with co-founder Jordan Schwartzenberger stepping away from day-to-day running while retaining an active role.
The investment is part of a wider portfolio strategy from Lumina founder and CEO Thomas Benski. His other investments include Carrousel Studios, Strike, Wayward Films, Creators Corp, Magna Studios and Arcade.
“We invested in Arcade because we believe they have the team, talent and ambition to build one of the defining companies in the creator economy,” Benski said. “They’ve already built something special. Our role is to give Jordan, Matt and the team the backing, network leverage, growth company experience and resources to take that ambition to the next level, and we’re incredibly excited about what they can build from here.”
How Arcade Makes Money
Arcade operates three divisions. Its management arm handles creators like The Sidemen and the new signings. Its commercial business works on partnerships with the likes of Virgin Media O2, Formula E and Unilever. Its advertising division, Creator Access, holds a YouTube Partner Sales license, which the company says guarantees ad sales against its creative talent.
Joe Lamb is Arcade’s Commercial Managing Director, and Adam Smith leads Creator Access.
Arcade was founded in 2021 by Schwartzenberger, Sam Uwins and Aaron O’Neill as the management and ventures company for The Sidemen. The group recently saw member KSI exit, but the remaining Sidemen continue with Arcade.
Today’s upfront will show whether advertisers buy the pitch that creators can operate with the scale of broadcasters while keeping the trust of their audiences.
Source: deadline.com