Joe Budden isn't a rapper anymore but he does appear to have beef with one of the biggest streaming services out there. The former rapper inked a two-year exclusive deal with Spotify in 2018 for The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory and Mal but as they near the end of their two-year run together, Joe Budden told Variety that Spotify is "pillaging" his audience.
As the recent episode explored Joe Budden's frustrations over his deal, which expires in a month's time, he said that after the next seven episodes, he'll be bringing the podcast to a new platform. "Spotify never cared about this podcast individually,” Budden said in the podcast. “Spotify only cared about our contribution to the platform," adding that his podcast has been "undermined and undervalued."
"September 23rd, I cannot tell you where this podcast will be,” Budden told Variety. “But as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify.”
It seems that similar to his previous deal with Complex, he doesn't feel like he's getting a fair cut, especially in the wake of Bill Simmons' recent $250M deal with The Ringer. “You pillage the audience from the podcast, and you’ve continued to pillage each step of the way without any regard” for the listeners, he added.
While Tuma Basa, the lead curator for Spotify's Rap Caviar, left the company for YouTube Music, the same executives that were in Budden's corner aren't there anymore. "We can’t really talk about no business between us before I know what took place with my brother Tuma,” Budden said.
Though Budden hasn't disclosed where the podcast will lead to next, he'll either be able to have his podcast available on multiple platform or he scores himself another exclusive deal. "I don’t wanna come off as angry, upset or bitter because the reality of it is we both hit our goals," he said.
