The Joe Rogan Experience Just (Got) Real Exclusive
A look into how a small studio in Woodland Hills, CA is flipping the podcasting world upside down
Joe Rogan in 2009: *sets up first podcast* “Nobody’s watching this…113 already? Wow. 113 people is like a show at a comedy club. Now, I feel pressure. Now, we HAVE to be entertaining.”
Joe Rogan in 2020: *starts preparing for his 1,479th podcast*
Love him or hate him, Joe Rogan is, without a doubt, an Internet sensation. A stand-up comedian, actor, UFC commentator, ex-Fear Factor host, and podcaster, Rogan has crafted a colorful résumé over the years. His not-so-linear journey has led him to creating one of the world’s most popular podcast shows, The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE).
You might know him for his most popular podcast interview with Elon Musk in 2018, where Musk infamously smokes a joint. He’s went on to interview other prominent (and some controversial) guests like Bernie Sanders to Edward Snowden to Iron Man. Rogan never fails to pack a comedic punch in his interviews, which is what makes his show ever more entertaining. Yet, to understand his underlying success, we need to look beyond his stellar, star-studded lineup of guests and look deeper into our own experiences.
Rogan’s podcasts are unfiltered, thought-provoking, and, above all else, human. He doesn’t read a script. He keeps it conversational. And he cordially discusses the unspoken side of today’s pressing issues (i.e. politics, mental health, grizzly bears) that don’t often get favored hashtags in mainstream media. Yet, Rogan does so in a level-headed manner and with (almost) utmost respect towards his guests.
All the while, keeping it fun.
JRE’s popularity is anything but coincidental. In a world that’s in constant flux of change, our burning desires of finding commonality, building trust, and forming connections have never been stronger. Simply put, we attend to those who we can relate to and empathize with. It’s exactly these types of qualities that have caught the attentions of consumers. It’s also these exact qualities that have driven money-grabbing media companies to open up their purse strings to talk business.
On May 19, Joe Rogan announced that he was bringing his podcast to music streaming company Spotify in an exclusive multi-year licensing deal worth north of $100 million. The deal is one of the largest in the podcasting industry right now, and it comes at a time when the competition for our attention is fierce. JRE has accumulated 8.4 million YouTube subscribers, regularly racks up more than a million views per video, and gets roughly 190 million downloads per month! That’s a far cry from the 30 million downloads per month he claimed he was getting a few years back. The podcast has consistently dominated Apple’s podcasting charts and is the most-searched-for show on Spotify. To date, he rakes in $30 million per year, making him the highest-paid podcaster in the world.
So, what does this mean for you? Nothing, besides that you’ll have to create a Spotify account (for free, mind you) if you want to continue listening to Joe Rogan talk about aliens or artificial intelligence. Rogan’s full library of podcasts will be made available on the streaming service on September 1st and will be exclusive to the platform starting in 2021. You’d be able to experience the Joe Rogan Experience in audio and video, which is a newly tested capability for Spotify. Until then, you can still find his content on YouTube and Apple Podcast.
Music streaming rivals are taking note. Up until now, the industry has embraced an open ecosystem, where you could find and listen to your favorite podcasts in between different platforms. And, for the most part, access is free.
In the fight for streaming content, Spotify is playing chess while others are playing checkers. To differentiate itself from its peers, the “audio” streaming platform is expanding beyond its library of music and building out its podcast empire. It has written fat checks for the largest names in the business, including ~$200 million for Bill Simmons’ The Ringer and $230 million for production company Gimlet Media. It has made high-profile vertical acquisitions for companies like podcast editing tool Anchor and has inked exclusive deals with figures like Barack & Michelle Obama.
Spotify is throwing buckets of cash into the medium in its efforts to not only hoard everyone’s favorite content, but eventually create its own in-house programming. It’s a chess move to leverage its content to attract new users and convert them into paid subscribers. And the proof is in the pudding. The company boasts more than 1 million shows today, with an overall increase in consumer engagement and creation. Consumption grew by “triple digits” in Q1 2020 compared to Q1 2019. More and more people are discovering the allure of podcasts and want to start their own; 70% of new podcasts were created within Spotify’s own ecosystem through Anchor.
And the fight for audience attention and ownership is only going to intensify from here on out. Major music streaming platforms see the need to diversify beyond music in order to stay afloat and maintain sustainable margins. Podcast ad revenue is consistently growing year-over-year, though with higher-than-average CPM (costs per 1,000 listeners). In 2019, it had an average CPM of $25 for a 60-second podcast ad. Nevertheless, the growing sustenance of a podcast ad marketplace is bearing fruit for an industry that’s seeing more and more creators and consumers globally.
Back in 2019, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek envisions that over 20% of listening will be non-music audio content within a few years. So, expect more non-handshaking deals for podcast tech and exclusive rights to content. For celebrities, artists, and aspiring at-home podcasters, just know that Hollywood isn’t skimping out on this phenomenon and is investing into high-production quality shows to keep up. Like Instagram and TikTok influencers, celebrity podcasters (like Joe Rogan) can use their sway to boost listenership, find new audiences, and connect intimately with their fans.
This watershed moment not only sheds light on the growing necessity of the medium but exposes the realities of the media business. Over the past month, “Call Her Daddy”, a popular sex and culture podcast owned by Barstool Sports, hit pause as its superstar hosts, Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn, struggled to come to an agreement over a new contract deal. The debacle cost Barstool $100,000 for every missed episode. Although the feud may seem overdramatized, it pinched a nerve for its million followers and sewed in a nascent reality for podcasting. A reality where the pull of influencers outgrows the media brands that invested in them in the first place.
Tl;dr: Spotify, Barstool, and all these tech giants are taking a page from the same playbook. First, win the hearts and minds of the consumer through innovation and good content. Then, win their wallets one 60-second ad at a time.
Originally published from Issue #8 of my newsletter E-MERGE.
E-MERGE is a newsletter about and for the consumer of tomorrow. To help you discover the latest technology trends, I take a deep dive into some of the week’s major headlines and investments that have profound implications on the future of consumption.
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