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Spotify has reached a multi-year extension with top podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, securing an important talent relationship but also shifting to a non-exclusive distribution plan for the show.
Rogan’s podcast will stream on Spotify, but also will also be available on Apple, Amazon and YouTube under the revised distribution strategy that Spotify began pursuing in 2023. The company said it “will work closely with Joe and his team to continue to maximize the audience of the show across platforms,” with the company overseeing distribution and marketing.
This year’s expiration of Rogan’s current deal, which was worth a reported $200 million, had prompted speculation about rival platforms potentially luring him away or even him forming a new corporate entity based around the show. Spotify has pruned its once-deep roster of podcast talent, but opted to extend Rogan, who has consistently been a chart-topping host, though he regularly courts controversy with his opinions and choice of guests.
Spotify declined to specify the terms of the new deal. The Wall Street Journal reported it is worth “up to $250 million.”
Having Rogan has driven growth across Spotify’s overall podcast business, the company said. Since first entering into an exclusive in 2021, overall podcast consumption on Spotify has increased by 232%, the company said, and revenue has climbed 80%. In 2023, The Joe Rogan Experience posted a 45% jump in revenue.
Spotify faces competition in the podcast sector from Amazon, Apple, SiriusXM and others. The company announced last December it was cutting 17% of its workforce, in part to adjust expenses after a billion-dollar M&A and hiring binge related to podcasts in recent years.
While Rogan and other notable names like The Ringer’s Bill Simmons have remained at Spotify, several high-profile signings from the boom times have left the fold. The departures have included production shingles led by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Barack and Michelle Obama and the production outpost Gimlet, which was dismantled and folded into the company’s other podcast operations. Spotify paid more than $200 million to acquire Gimlet in 2019.
