Back in 2020, Joe Rogan signed what turned out to be a $200 million, three-year contract with Spotify. The deal made his podcast, “Joe Rogan Experience,” 100% exclusive to Spotify.
With those three years up, it was time for a new deal. That just happened. And if the reports are accurate, not only is Rogan making another, bigger truckload of money, but the podcast will return to other streaming platforms.
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Rogan’s new Spotify deal could be worth as much as $250 million over several years. He will earn an upfront payment now, likely in the tens of millions of dollars, a minimum overall guarantee, AND a percentage of the ad revenue generated by his show on rival platforms.
Spotify focusing on broader advertising reach over exclusivity shows that ad sales have proven to be a bigger revenue stream than subscriptions in the podcast realm, and the platform is reported to have tightened up some of its spending in that area compared to years ago, instead opting for revenue sharing agreements like the one it has with Rogan. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Spotify is still willing to spend big to keep a business relationship open with Rogan. He’s their most popular podcaster by far, and a press statement from the company has some interesting numbers to that effect:
“Since the podcast has been exclusive to Spotify, overall podcast consumption on the platform has increased by 232%. As a result of this exponential growth we’ve seen, this has attracted a wide array of advertisers that has fueled the 80% increase in revenue in 2023 since 2021, including a 45% increase in revenue in 2023 for the show.”
Between the two Spotify deals, Joe will have made $450 million from the streaming platform over roughly six years. And at the end of it all, he’ll still own his show! So, presumably, in December 2026/January 2027, he’ll be a free agent once again, free to sign another massive contract.