Joe Rogan became a media sensation in May of 2020 when it was revealed he had closed a $100 million dollar deal for his podcast to stream exclusively on Spotify. Spotify’s shares immediately sky rocketed but what followed was a problematic period due to the increased amount of scrutiny Joe Rogan would face.
A while into the exclusive deal, it was confirmed that the sum paid to Rogan was over $200 million and not a $100M, as was initially reported.
Rogan joined the network as a part of a media strategy crafted by former CW exec Dawn Ostroff. Ostroff also courted a number of other celebrities during her tenure – with most of their ventures flopping.
A rumor that Joe Rogan will leave Spotify this year once his contract ends has been just refuted by the streaming giant.
According to the news site Semafor, Rogan’s future has given rise to a great deal of controversy. This is particularly in light of the fact that his connection with Spotify management has “frayed.”
The news outlet said that since Rogan’s contract with the Sweden-based audio platform was about to expire. This was a concern considering Rogan’s episodes average 11 million playbacks per episode and regularly top all the charts.
When contacted by The Post, a Spotify representative denied Semafor’s claims. He was adamant that Rogan’s contract is still in effect.
Spotify let Ostroff go along with former Spotify head of studios and video Courtney Holt who initially approached Rogan about joining the company. Holt was instrumental in getting A-listers like Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Barack and Michelle Obama to try their hand at podcasting.
Holt’s departure broke a crucial thread that bound Rogan to the business.
Rogan threatened to leave the company last year after his annoyance with requests from the public to limit what he may say on his show.
In an episode from March 2022, Rogan remarked:
“I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, f–k that!”
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