MrBallen: 11M Subscribers, 2 Podcast Deals, and a Graphic Novel Every October

On Halloween, John Allen has two calendars worth looking at. One belongs to his partners. His podcast, The MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories, has run under two distribution deals in three years, first with Amazon Music and now with SiriusXM. The other calendar is his own: a new MrBallen graphic novel has arrived every fall since 2024, and the third, The Terror Within, went on sale October 6. Both calendars make him money. Forbes estimated his 2026 creator earnings at $24 million and placed him on its Top Creators list. But the two calendars show different things about who holds the customer relationship, and creators with a loyal audience can learn from that difference. Portrait: SiriusXM's press photograph of John Allen, shown with the publisher's cover art for his three graphic novels.

Who is MrBallen?

MrBallen is John Allen, a former Navy SEAL who started a YouTube channel in 2020 telling strange, dark, and mysterious true stories. Forbes lists 11 million YouTube subscribers and estimated 2026 earnings of $24 million. His business now includes a podcast network, live shows, a nonprofit foundation, and a bestselling graphic novel series. Allen joined SEAL Team Two, was wounded in Afghanistan in 2014, and medically retired in 2017, according to his Wikipedia biography. The storytelling started on TikTok and YouTube. His first viral TikTok, on the Dyatlov Pass group, drew 5 million views the day it was posted. The Forbes profile says his foundation has given more than $2 million to organizations that support victims and their families. That fits how he describes the audience. When the Amazon deal was announced, he told Tubefilter that "the Strange, Dark and Mysterious community is the only reason I have the platform that I do today."

What did the Amazon Music deal license?

In September 2022, Allen signed a three-year deal that made his podcast exclusive to Amazon Music from November 1, 2022. Amazon also got first-look rights on new projects from his company, Ballen Studios, across film, TV, books, games, and merchandise. When the deal was signed, Tubefilter reported close to 7 million YouTube subscribers, over 8 million TikTok followers, and about 7 million podcast downloads a month. That reach is what Amazon was paying for: a large audience that came back every week for one host's voice. The deal was a real asset sale. An exclusive gives the creator guaranteed money and a partner with marketing muscle. What it takes is placement. For the length of the term, listeners have to go where the partner says, and the partner's terms set the date the arrangement gets renegotiated.

The 2025 move to SiriusXM

On October 27, 2025, SiriusXM announced a multi-year agreement under which the podcast and his YouTube channel would be distributed on the SiriusXM Podcast Network from November 1. SiriusXM Media took exclusive ad sales rights for the audio and video editions of the show and for the wider MrBallen network. Two details matter here. Episodes stayed available on every podcast platform, so listeners did not have to move. And SiriusXM sells early access to new episodes through its own SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscription. That paid tier exists, but the subscriber relationship belongs to SiriusXM, not to Ballen Studios. This is a sensible deal for a show of that size. It just isn't the same as a recurring product the creator owns. The ad inventory is sold by a partner, and the subscription is billed by a partner. When the term ends, the next contract starts from scratch.

A graphic novel every October

The other calendar is easier to read. Ten Speed Graphic, a Penguin Random House imprint, has published one MrBallen collection each fall:

The podcast moved between partners on contract dates. The books arrived on the same autumn date each year. Prices are US hardcover list prices from Penguin Random House.

Book	On sale	US hardcover
Strange, Dark & Mysterious	October 1, 2024	$24.99
Where Nightmares Live	September 30, 2025	$25.99
The Terror Within	October 6, 2026	$28.00

Each volume collects nine stories. The publisher's listings say the 2025 and 2026 books each include four stories that are new to the series, and all three are illustrated by Andrea Mutti. Penguin Random House describes the first volume as a New York Times bestseller. The timing is the point. A horror audience has a season. Releasing every year just before Halloween turns a one-time purchase into an annual ritual. Fans know when the next book is coming, and the release gives the channel something new to talk about every autumn.

What does a yearly book teach a creator about recurring revenue?

A yearly release shows that an audience will come back to buy on a schedule the creator controls. It still isn't recurring revenue in the strict sense. Each book is a separate sale through a publisher, and the buyer's email, card, and renewal belong to the retailer. The habit is real, but nobody owns it as an account. That is the gap between a ritual and a subscription. MrBallen's audience already shows the behavior a subscription needs. They come back weekly for episodes and yearly for books, and they pay. What a subscription adds is a billing relationship that renews without a new launch each time. Our breakdown of six podcasters building subscription businesses follows hosts who made that move. If you are weighing where a paid podcast tier should live, the podcast paywall fee comparison shows what each platform keeps. And why creator income resets to zero every month explains the pressure an annual release cycle leaves in place.

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Three questions to ask about your own calendar

MrBallen's setup holds up because each piece has a clear job. Here are three questions to ask about your own business:

Which of your dates does someone else set? List every contract, platform program, and sponsor renewal with its end date. Those are the moments when the terms can change against you.
Which purchase do fans already repeat? A yearly book, a seasonal drop, or a weekly episode they would pay to get early. Repeat purchases are the best evidence a subscription will work.
Who holds the account? If a retailer or a network bills the customer, you are earning from the relationship without owning it. That is fine for reach. It shouldn't be the only thing you have.

Horror creators have a natural advantage here, because their audience already keeps a calendar. Our profile of James A. Janisse and Dead Meat's first film looks at the same genre from the angle of a finished product rather than a series. Built by Foundry exists for the third question. We build and operate the business the audience pays for, usually a subscription app, and the creator owns it. After launch, App Care keeps the product maintained so the release calendar stays the creator's.

Own the calendar your audience already follows.

Bring the audience and the habit. Built by Foundry handles the product, the launch, and the operations from there.

See What We’d Build You →

MrBallen: 11M Subscribers, 2 Podcast Deals, and a Graphic Novel Every October

Get Creator Revenue Insights

Who is MrBallen?

What did the Amazon Music deal license?

The 2025 move to SiriusXM

A graphic novel every October

What does a yearly book teach a creator about recurring revenue?

Three questions to ask about your own calendar

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