Century Show Widely Distributed, Including on YouTube, Instead of Exclusively on Audio Streaming Service Spotify Secures New Deal with Star Podcaster Joe Rogan Allowing His Hit Show to be Broadly Distributed.
Rogan's Fresh Deal - Estimated by Insiders to Be Worth Up to $250 Million Over Its Multi-Year Terms Due to Familiarity with the Subject - Includes an Upfront Guarantee Plus Revenue Sharing Based on Advertising Income.
Under the new licensing agreement, Spotify will sell advertisements and distribute The Joe Rogan Experience on multiple podcast platforms, including in video format on YouTube, the company announced Friday. Under its previous deal, the show was exclusive to Spotify.
"The Joe Rogan Experience" has released more than 2,200 episodes. "Exciting conversations are a kind of mental nourishment," Rogan said in a Spotify blog post, announcing the new deal. Listening to such discussions "encourages people to have similar conversations with their friends, and makes life in general more interesting." Spotify shares rose by about 2% on Friday.
The new deal is emblematic of the changing economy of podcasting, which has matured both in terms of its reach and advertising spend since Rogan's last deal. Spotify is working on revising the terms of its deals with top talents in order to distribute shows on multiple platforms to maximize their reach and advertising revenue, instead of demanding exclusivity.
It also aims to pay smaller guarantees and emphasize revenue sharing, a model that helps to share the risk with the talents. Spotify closed its first deal with Rogan in 2020 during its initial blitz into the medium. It agreed to pay more than $100 million to bring "The Joe Rogan Experience" exclusively to Spotify, in an attempt to boost podcast listening on its platform.
The show is by far the most popular podcast on Spotify to date. Rogan's previous deal with Spotify ties his payout - which is expected to be between $180 and $220 million by the end of this year - to listener number goals. Initially, Spotify spent a lot of money on podcasts to build large audiences.
"Although this early foray into podcasting proved to be costly, Spotify has surpassed Apple and has become the most popular platform for listening to podcasts. Now, the company is working on becoming more disciplined in its podcast spending."
Through the wide distribution of Rogan's show, Spotify can earn more money from advertisements it sells because the podcast reaches a larger audience. Spotify's deal with Rogan caused trouble for the company in 2022 when rocker Neil Young withdrew his music due to what he said was vaccine misinformation spread by Rogan.
The Company Stands by Rogan and Chief Executive Daniel Ek Said that the Goal to Make Spotify the "Largest Audio Platform in the World" Means Accepting Diverse Voices and Different Opinions as the Company Moves Towards Scaling in Podcasting.
