Spotify recently signed a deal with comedian and TV host Joe Rogan to bring his YouTube podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, exclusively to the music streaming platform. It's possible this was a bad move for him financially.
JRE was a bonafide hit during its run on YouTube. The channel has just under 9 million subscribers and episodes average one million views each right now. However, there are clearly bigger YouTube channels. What's astounding about Rogan's show is its cultural impact. Joe Rogan is a figure in lots of communities due to his hosting work on TV's Fear Factor, his stand-up career that has earned him Netflix specials, and his presence among combat sports fans and fitness enthusiasts. Being prominent in so many avenues has led to him picking up celebrity guests from just about every realm – from actors, to scientists, to world champions – and that makes his cultural impact almost unquantifiable.
In summary, The Joe Rogan Experience is bigger than its impressive YouTube numbers and its cultural impact would have only increased its fan base. Andrew Wilkinson, an investment and internet business expert, penned an article for Supercast explaining that Rogan's reach could have earned him far more than the reported $100 million Spotify's contract pays out. Wilkinson bluntly describes the deal as a rip-off, citing issues with how Spotify's model works. In short, Spotify now gets control of the audience Joe Rogan captured. That potential financial value of a listenership of millions now belongs entirely to Spotify.
Joe Rogan's Podcast Could Have Made Him More than the Spotify Deal
The Supercast article uses math, subscriber numbers, and other data to extrapolate the potential of Rogan's original podcast. Based on the number of monthly viewers for the YouTube show, a change to a subscription model, even a modest one, could have earned the host more money than Spotify is offering (when added to his current YouTube earnings). Furthermore, podcast audiences grow over time because the medium is still in a nascent state. It's a complex business because no one truly knows the value of a podcast audience yet, as evidenced by the fallout between Barstool Sports and the Call Her Daddy podcast, which resulted in a breakup. JRE specifically, with its variety of guests and tendency to cover contentious issues, was even more likely to continue reaching new people. Adding more potential subscribers would have easily pushed the show beyond generating $100 million in revenue. Now, any new listeners the podcast picks up belong to Spotify.
On the other hand, we don't know the exact amount Spotify offered Rogan for the deal. The figure being thrown around is $100 million but exact details about the contract will likely never go public. It's also worth considering that Joe Rogan is a wealthy man who has already been wealthy for a long time. He certainly has accountants and financial advisors who wouldn't have let him metaphorically sell off oil-rich land. In fact, in a 2018 episode of that very podcast, Rogan expressed his disinterest in selling the show for similar reasons. A few other investors have expressed surprise online that he was willing to part with YouTube (and independence), but again, we don't know the details.
Source: Supercast