News and Commentary

Joe Rogan Signs Exclusive Deal With Spotify, Moving Show Off YouTube

   DailyWire.com
Joe Rogan
Michael S. Schwartz via Getty Images

Joe Rogan, the stand-up comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience, has partnered with Spotify in a reported nine-figure, multi-year deal that will make his full show an exclusive to the company by the end of the year. 

“Bringing the JRE to Spotify will mean that the platform’s more than 286 million active users will have access to one of culture’s leading voices,” said the company in a statement, which referred to Rogan as having helped “lay the foundation” to the modern “podcasting renaissance.”

Spotify also emphasized that the show will remain free to all users, and that Rogan’s full-length video episodes each of which is hours-long and  can rake in millions of YouTube views will be made available as “in-app vodcasts.”

“Starting on September 1, the entire JRE library will be available on Spotify as well as all the other platforms,” said Rogan in a video statement. “Somewhere around the end of the year, it will become exclusive to Spotify, including the video version of the podcast.”

“I am not going to be an employee of Spotify, we’re going to be working with the same crew, doing the exact same show,” said Rogan, who assured fans of his free-form style that they would not be disappointed. “The only difference will be is it will now be available on the largest audio platform in the world.”

A source familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that the multi-year licensing deal is worth more than $100 million, but The Journal could not verify the length of the agreement. In the hours after the announcement, Spotify stock closed at $175.01 per share on Tuesday evening, marking an over 8% increase from opening. 

Over the last eleven years, Rogan has grown his podcast into an internet phenomenon, releasing near-daily episodes that feature free-form discussions with comedians, scientists, journalists, cultural figures, among other guests. 

Each discussion typically rivals the length of most movies, and the most popular ones command millions of views. His 2018 episode with Tesla CEO Elon Musk has drawn 34 million views on YouTube alone, and his 2.5 hour discussion with Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro last year has been viewed over 8 million times. Rogan’s show has also featured discussions with politicians, including Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). 

As The Daily Wire previously reported, Rogan said that he would probably support Sanders in the California primary, a move that reportedly prompted Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to distance herself from Sanders after he promoted a video clip of Rogan’s quasi-endorsement.

The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member 

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Joe Rogan Signs Exclusive Deal With Spotify, Moving Show Off YouTube