Spotify Technology announced a new multi-year deal with comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday, with the goal of leveraging the show’s popularity to increase advertising revenue.
The estimated $250 million multi-year deal with Rogan includes a guaranteed minimum upfront payment and a revenue-sharing agreement based on ad sales. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the company declined to confirm the terms of the deal, but stated that the reported value was incorrect.
The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, which premiered in 2009, has been exclusively available on Spotify since 2020 and is promoted as the most listened to podcast globally.
Spotify also announced plans to make Joe Rogan’s show available on other platforms, including Apple, Amazon, and YouTube.
Joe Rogan interviews prominent politicians, businessmen, and celebrities on his podcast, such as director Quentin Tarantino, singer Miley Cyrus, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The Sweden-based company is focused on increasing advertising revenue on its platform through the Spotify Audience Network, an advertising marketplace for podcast publishers and creators.
“Since podcasts became exclusive to Spotify, overall podcast consumption on the platform has increased by 232%,” the company stated, noting that revenue from the previous year had risen by 80% compared to 2021.
Spotify first introduced podcasts in 2015 and has since made significant investments in the medium. It acquired podcast networks Gimlet Media and Anchor FM in 2019 and secured exclusive contracts with reality TV star Kim Kardashian and former US President Barack Obama. However, the company has since scaled back its ambitions and laid off 200 Gimlet Media employees.
Source: www.theguardian.com
