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Bulletins

Joe Rogan's Spotify deal was reportedly actually for $200 million

Rogan's contract covers 3.5 years of podcasts for the streaming giant.

Spotify product line on mobile phones
By shifting listening to podcasts, Spotify aims to reduce the revenue share it has to fork over to music rights holders.
Image: Spotify

Spotify's massive contract for Joe Rogan is reportedly worth upwards of $200 million, double what the deal was previously thought to be worth, the New York Times reported Thursday. Rogan's contract covers 3.5 years of exclusivity on his podcasts for the streaming giant.

The Times story tracks Spotify's quest to become a podcast behemoth, which has included the acquisition of several major podcasting companies, and has only been aided by "The Joe Rogan Experience," which the company said has been its biggest podcast in more than 90 countries. But the show has been riddled with problematic themes and accused of spreading misinformation, including on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Spotify came under fire in recent weeks for not moderating Rogan's podcast. Major artists Neil Young and Joni Mitchell left the audio service in protest while #DeleteSpotify trended on social media platforms, but CEO Daniel Ek said in a blog post that the company isn't interested in being a "content censor."

Nat Rubio-Licht

Nat Rubio-Licht is a Los Angeles-based news writer at Protocol. They graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in newspaper and online journalism in May 2020. Prior to joining the team, they worked at the Los Angeles Business Journal as a technology and aerospace reporter.

spotifyjoe rogandaniel ekpodcastspodcastingaudio
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