Spotify has had its hands full over the past couple of weeks with their beloved podcast star, Joe Rogan, caught up in controversies ranging from the misinformation variety to racism allegations. The heat surrounding the Joe Rogan Experience has led to some people going as far as to cancel their Spotify subscriptions because, knowing that Joe Rogan was putting this content up on their platform, Spotify threw 100 million dollars at the content creator and signed him to an exclusivity deal as one of the biggest podcasters on the planet.
But, apparently, that specific price doesn't seem to be the case, and the accurate price may have been higher, which could result in even more backlash from the masses. According to The New York Times, "two people familiar with the details of the transaction" have shared information with the iconic publication that sheds more light on the Joe Rogan Experience's Spotify deal, revealing that the ex-Fear Factor host had a deal with Spotify worth 200 million dollars--double what was initially reported.
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The podcast that has been revealed actually to have signed a deal for about three years, The Joe Rogan Experience, was a part of Spotify's refocus in 2019 to shift a bit of their creative attention to the development of podcasts. During this time, it seemed that Spotify had an unlimited amount of money ready at the helm to spend on podcasts to help bolster their footprint within that audio market, setting the stage to acquire the ex-Fear Factor's podcast in the months to come.
With the new focus on Spotify and The Joe Rogan Experience, audiences are sure to look at the actual number for this deal and have more to say about the nature of the streaming platform and the reality tv host. And the scrutiny doesn't stop there as medical professionals and artists have called for Spotify to take action against Joe Rogan and hold him accountable for his misinformation and racist rhetoric. It's hard to know what will happen in the aftermath of their deal's actual numbers, but one can assume it's not going to be a good reaction.
