KevOnStage continues to grow his empire with new podcast partnership
TheGrio...
KevOnStage is bringing his podcasts “Here’s the Thing,” and “The Bald Brothers” to digital podcast network The Volume.
Social media’s favorite digital cousin, Kevin “KevOnStage” Fredericks is expanding his work as a creative. After signing a multi-year deal with Tubi and growing his platforms to millions of followers, Fredericks has partnered with The Volume to bring his two hit podcasts, “Here’s the Thing,” with Angel “ThatChickAngel” Moore and “The Bald Brothers” with Tony Baker, to the digital podcast network opening the doors for new sponsorship and brand partnership opportunities.
“Having ‘Here’s the Thing’ and ‘The Bald Brothers’ join The Volume platform is a meaningful next chapter for us, giving both shows the opportunity to connect with even more viewers,” said Fredericks.
Describing it as an chance to introduce the shows to new audiences who appreciate the culture, conversations and personalities, the comedian who has been podcasting since 2018 explains how meaningful these types of partnerships are for Black creatives in this industry.
“It’s a fantastic partnership. It’s another example of how serious podcasting has become. It’s a real deal business with real teams and real hopes and dreams and things being built,” he told theGrio. “I think a lot of times in America, when you are Black, you have to be undeniable. You can’t just be an okay thing. You have to be [undeniable] in order to get a lot of those opportunities that are often available to white artists in whatever field. You have to be the biggest, the best.”
Just a few weeks ago, the reality of these discrepancies in the podcast world became a trending topic after social media users noted that no Black women were included in Forbes’ list of top-earning podcasts—an unfortunate norm that Fredricks, like many users, called disheartening.
“It’s just disheartening, but at the same time, it’s so much of the status quo. I’m not saying that I’m happy about this by any stretch, but it is a very common feeling of like you got to be huge to be able to work in those spaces,” the comedian reflected, noting how he uses those moments as fuel rather than discouragement. “You take those victories from your peers and you use them as inspiration for yourselves. You have to take the hope where you can get it, and borrow from those people’s hope until it can be your own.”
Through his partnership with The Volume, “Here’s the Thing,” and “The Bald Brothers” will be increasing their episode output from one episode a week to two, a strategy that has helped Fredricks connect with audiences through the years.
“In this business, I’ve learned that over-indexing on what people love tends to get great results,” he explained.
Through the years, Fredricks has grown to become one of Black social media users’ favorite content creators. Unofficially known as the internet’s favorite cousin, he does not take that title lightly.
“In the Black community, your favorite cousin is high praise, because we got all kinds of cousins — actual cousins, your mom and dad’s friends’ kids, your play cousins. All I want to do is be the person where, when your favorite cousin comes through Thanksgiving, you’re like, ‘Okay, we’re about to have a good time,’” he shared. “So it’s a huge, huge, tremendous honor for me for people to say I’m their favorite cousin.”