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Joe Rogan, a college dropout who made ends meet in his 20s by performing comedy gigs at strip clubs, single-handedly shifted the media landscape last week when it was announced that his wildly successful Joe Rogan Experience podcast (est. 2009) would stream exclusively on Spotify in a multi-year deal later this year.
The deal is expected to earn the 52-year-old former Fear Factor host $100 million, a number that Rogan is still very uncomfortable with.
“[I’m] Weirdly richer,” Rogan told New York Times journalist and JRE guest Bari Weiss in a piece released Monday. “Like it doesn’t register. Seems fake.”
“It feels gross. Especially right now, when people can’t work.”
Spotify’s nine-figure deal is a measured one, and in just 23 minutes following the announcement of the deal on Tuesday, the streaming platform saw its stock add $1.7 billion to its market cap.
For perspective:
A musician would need to generate 23 billion streams on Spotify to earn what they're paying Joe Rogan for his podcast rights (assuming a typical $.00437 payout per stream). In other words, Spotify values Rogan more than any musician in the history of the world. Sound fair to you? pic.twitter.com/zvMdY3mIQA
— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) May 20, 2020
The JRE podcast currently enjoys 190 million downloads per month, and Rogan acknowledges the shift in consumer preferences from active to passive learning.
“Nobody ever thought: We need to gear our entertainment, our media, to people who cook, who jog, who hike, people who drive. Even books on tape can require too much thinking.” But a podcast, he said, “doesn’t require that much thinking at all. You get captivated by the conversation. One of the things about this medium in general is that it’s really easy to listen to while you do other stuff.”
…
“Podcasting is all freeballing,” he added. “It’s the opposite of polished. And because of that, it resonates.”
When asked about whether he’s worried about his fanbase accusing him of selling out in his new role with Spotify, he responded:
“Why would I sell out now? You sell out to get what you want.”
With all the cash, it’s only a matter of time before Rogan subscribes to Scientology. Book it.
[h/t The New York Times]