UTA Agents Steinberg & Chesneau on Creator Economy Careers

🎙️ Today we sit down with Rebecca Steinberg and Allison Chesneau, the UTA duo who are behind the careers of some of the biggest creators including Jake Shane, Alix Earle, Gabby Windey & Becca Bloom.

Rebecca Steinberg and Megan Chesneau are agents at United Talent Agency (UTA), where they represent some of the biggest names in audio and digital content. Steinberg's path to agenting took her from selling high-end clothing at Fred Segal in Santa Monica to roles at CAA, Tastemade, and Acast before joining UTA. Chesneau got her start interning for film producer Lawrence Grey, worked her way up as an assistant, and found her way to UTA's audio team through the mentorship of UTA co-founder Peter Benedek. In this interview, they discuss how creators like Jake Shane and Alix Earle are scaling beyond single platforms, what buyers at Netflix, Tubi, and Disney+ want from creator-led IP, and the career habits that separate successful creators, and agents from the rest.

AvA: What was your first role in the industry, and how did you get your foot in the door?

Steinberg: I wouldn’t call my first job my “foot in the door,” but it did shape the way I think about sales and relationships. The day after graduating from college, I flew straight home—no job lined up, heartbroken, just determination to start making money. A man named Brian (shout out to Brian!) took a chance on me and hired me as a sales associate at Fred Segal in Santa Monica.

There, I sold high-end men’s clothing—Japanese imported denim, terry cloth T-shirts that cost more than my monthly groceries, and perfectly broken-in pre-worn Converse. The clientele ranged from locals to celebrities, and it’s where I learned the art of selling and building genuine connections with customers. It turned out to be one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had and, looking back, it laid the foundation for what I didn’t yet realize was my future—becoming an agent. I held several roles between Fred Segal and UTA — including assistant in the entertainment marketing department at CAA, talent manager at Tastemade, and a buying-side position at Acast in podcast acquisitions — but my experience at Fred Segal was truly defining and changed the trajectory of my life.

Chesneau: Post college, I got my start as an intern at film producer Lawrence Grey’s production company. When his assistant left just a few weeks after I started, I quickly had to step in as Lawrence’s temp assistant for several months, which is where I first learned the ins and outs of being an assistant and how to roll calls. Even though I was terrified, the experience turned out to be the best possible way to dive in.

But I have to shout out my college film professor, Michael Whalen at Santa Clara University, who set up my initial meeting with Lawrence. Each year, he organizes a “Hollywood Shadowing” trip, bringing a group of students to Los Angeles for a week of meetings with executives, agents, producers, editors, and others across Hollywood so they can start building connections and be ready to find a job after graduation. Now, I meet with students every year at UTA, and it’s always a full-circle moment to be able to help the next generation find their place in the industry.

AvA: Before we jump in, break down your roles at UTA. What exactly do you handle day to day?

Steinberg: My days really vary. I usually wake up to around 500 emails and start by scanning them to make sure I haven’t missed anything important. From there, my calls begin: one moment I’m talking to a podcast buyer, negotiating a two-year distribution deal, the next I’m speaking with a brand interested in buying inventory on a client’s show, and then I’m on with a client about adapting their IP into a TV series. I love this job because no hour looks the same, and I get to work with many different, incredibly talented creators.

Chesneau: To Rebecca’s point, every day looks really different -- some days are hyper focused on negotiations and closing a deal, and other days include various strategy calls with clients, outreach to brands, pitching new projects to buyers, or identifying the next exciting voice in the space. The great thing about audio is we service clients across the entire agency, so we get to collaborate with colleagues in the traditional TV/Film world, music, and more. It keeps it interesting.

AvA: Creators now operate like multi-vertical businesses. How has the agency model evolved to support talent whose careers move across platforms, formats, and product categories at once?

Steinberg: We’ve adapted by broadening our client teams and bringing in agents from across the company, so clients can fully experience the kind of comprehensive representation UTA was built on. Many of our audio and digital creators now work closely with talent, music, and even literary teams as their careers expand. A great example is Jake Shane: he came in as a digital creator, grew into podcasting, and is now set to star in and executive-produce a TV show based on his life.

Chesneau: We genuinely love working on teams. Overcommunication is key, but the collaboration across departments to me is one of the most rewarding parts of the job. When you can strategize as a team and successfully pave a path for a client across multiple lanes of business, everything else flows from there.

Jake Shane / Credit: Spotify

AvA: What kinds of creator-led IP are buyers excited about right now?

Steinberg: Buyers are most excited about creators who have put in the time and effort to develop repeatable long-form formats. Major buyers like Netflix, Tubi, and Disney+ are increasingly building their content strategies around creators and taking concrete steps to collaborate with them. In terms of genre, it spans quite a bit, but platforms are especially leaning into creators focused on true crime, sports, comedy, and entertainment.

Chesneau: Buyers are recognizing and valuing the depth of the relationships creators have built with their audiences—and the built‑in trust that comes with that when it’s time to launch new projects and generate excitement. The focus now is on helping these creators double down on what’s already working and scale it.

AvA: When you look at your most successful clients, what patterns or behaviors consistently show up?

Steinberg: I hate to sound cheesy, but I genuinely believe it’s about true authenticity. My most successful clients are unapologetically themselves. They don’t try to copy trends or fit into someone else’s lane, and that honesty is what builds a real connection with their audience. When people feel like they know the creator, not just the content, everything else grows from there.

Chesneau: I second that - I think the other component is just consistent, hard work. And a deep curiosity about the business. The most successful creators stay true to their voice but also pay close attention to audience feedback, comments, views - to understand what their audience resonates with or not.

AvA: The creator space is crowded, but the white space is only growing. Where do you see the biggest opportunities both for creators and for early-career people trying to build a career in this industry?

Steinberg: I think the biggest opportunity is for creators who develop a clear, ownable identity that can scale beyond a single platform. We’re moving past the era of one-off viral videos and into a space where consistent formats can become podcasts, live shows, books, or even scripted TV. Creators who treat their content like intellectual property rather than just posts have huge room to grow.

Chesneau: Get really clear on what your offering is - what you want your audience to feel after they’ve consumed your content. And find ways to connect directly whether that’s through community events or subscription platforms… I think it’s going to become more and more important to build that space early.

Alix Earle / Credit: Netflix

AvA: Can you share a project or moments that shaped your career?

Steinberg: It was 10pm on a Thursday night and I was driving home from a dinner that ran long. That was the night my now current boss called me and asked if I wanted to come over to UTA to be an agent. Knowing that he saw my potential and believed in me meant so much. That moment changed everything for me.

Chesneau: Working for Peter Benedek (Founder of UTA and TV Lit agent) was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of my career because I gained a true mentor. Peter also introduced me to podcasts and ultimately Oren Rosenbaum, and the rest took off from there!

And on the project side, working with Ky Dickens and The Telepathy Tapes universe has been a highlight of my agent career thus far - Ky has impacted so many lives through the show and her work as a filmmaker, and I’m grateful to be along for the ride!

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