Spotify’s Joe Rogan remains in business.
The music streamer and audio platform on Friday announced a new multiyear deal with Rogen, renewing its partnership with the polarizing host of its most popular podcast. In a sign of the changing economics of the industry, the new deal will allow Rogan’s show, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to be distributed on multiple platforms, including YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Under the previous deal, it was exclusive to Spotify.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reported that it could be worth up to $250 million over the life of the deal. Spotify will handle ad sales and distribution. A representative for Spotify declined to comment on the terms of the deal. The show consistently ranks as the most-listened-to podcast globally, the company said in a blog post announcing the news.
“These conversations have hugely changed the way I think about life, and continue to do so,” Rogan said in an interview with the blog post. “I feel extremely fortunate to be able to do this.”
Rogan’s initial deal with Spotify in 2020, which executives said was worth more than $200 million, set the high-water mark of podcasting’s big-spend era, in which multiple tech and media companies have signed on- Competed to turn Demand Audio into a major moneymaker. Eager to expand beyond the low-margin music streaming business, Spotify has spent more than $1 billion on its podcasting ambitions, placing significant bets on a number of podcasting companies and star hosts, including Rogen, Kim Kardashian, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Is. The Obamas and Alex Cooper, host of “Call Her Daddy,” all signed exclusive deals.
Many of those deals did not succeed. Gimlet and Parcast, two production companies Spotify acquired in 2019, were shuttered last year after a series of layoffs. And the Kardashians and the Sussexes’ podcast only lasted one season. Last January, following the first round of layoffs, and the departure of the chief content and advertising business officer, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said he “probably got a little carried away” and “over-invested” in content acquisitions. .
But overall listenership continues to increase. Last September, the company said it had more than 100 million regular podcast listeners, a tenfold increase from 2019, and it predicted its podcast business would break even this year.
Spotify’s support for Rogan has remained constant throughout his podcasting endeavors. It stood out with its excellent brilliance in 2022, when Rogen faced criticism for interviews on his show that spread doubt about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, and for racist comments Which he had done earlier in his career. Those controversies led some prominent artists, including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and India.Arie, to remove their music from the platform and start the #DeleteSpotify campaign on social media.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” was extremely popular and reached millions of listeners with its biggest episode. Under the new deal, Rogan will be able to expand that audience outside of Spotify, which has moved away from its exclusivity model in an effort to cut costs and increase advertising revenue. Earlier this week, the company announced that Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” will also be distributed on other platforms.
Source: www.nytimes.com
