I’m not surprised.

Happy for both Spotify and Joe.

He wasn’t going to find a better platform. Spotify wasn’t going to let a top-tier star float away.

Thus…. Spotify announced a new multiyear partnership deal with Joe Rogan for “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

WSJ:

Rogan’s fresh deal, estimated to be worth as much as $250 million over its multiyear term, involves an upfront minimum guarantee, plus a revenue sharing agreement based on ad sales.

Under the new licensing agreement, Spotify will sell ads for and distribute “The Joe Rogan Experience” across several podcast platforms, including in a video format on YouTube, the company said Friday. Under his previous deal, the show was exclusive to Spotify.

“The Joe Rogan Experience” has released more than 2,200 episodes.

Rogan’s previous deal with Spotify ties his payout—estimated to land at around $180 million to $220 million by the end of its term this year—to audience-number targets.

Spotify spent heavily on podcasting in the format’s early days to build large audiences from its biggest shows. While that early foray into podcasting proved costly, Spotify surpassed Apple to become the most popular podcast listening platform. 

Asked about how his style has evolved over the years, Rogan said:

I think podcasting is an art form and I definitely sucked at it when I first started. I was curious, but I didn’t understand how to make a conversation flow. I didn’t know when to shut up and listen, and I didn’t know how to make someone comfortable so that you can get the most out of their perspective. I’ve learned how to assist the conversation’s flow instead of waiting for my turn to talk. I learned how to be fully locked in with what the other person is saying. 

A lot of what helps is that I’ve done it for so many hours and learned how to do it better over trial and error, but also that I only have people on the show that I’m genuinely interested in talking to. I never do a podcast just because a person is popular. It’s always from a place of “I think it would be cool to talk to that person.”

I’ve also learned so much—not just from all the episodes themselves—but also from all the audiobooks I’ve listened to, articles and books that I’ve read, and documentaries I’ve watched either for the show, or because of the show. I always feel like, in starting this podcast, I stumbled into this fantastic accidental education just by being interested in talking to people, and being fortunate enough that people want to listen.

Any specific guests stand out?:

I’ve been blown away countless times by the way brilliant people interface with the world, and how it shapes the way they describe life. Cool conversations are a kind of mental nourishment, and if you’re never around interesting people, and you don’t get to have conversations with people who are exceptional, I think it’s almost a kind of social starvation. 

I think that’s why so many people like to listen to podcasts—because you can be a fly on the wall and experience the inner workings of the mind of someone way different than anyone you would normally encounter in your life.  

I also think that from listening to these cool conversations it encourages people to have similar conversations with their friends, and it just generally makes life more interesting. I’m also lucky to be friends with some of the funniest people alive, and when people hear those episodes, it’s a hilarious relief from all the bullshit most people are going through in life.

I think that experience is extra special because nothing is planned out. There’s no script of what we’re going to talk about, and it all just sort of happens in real time. It’s just an actual organic conversation with people enjoying themselves, which is something we all can relate to, and something we all love to do. These conversations have changed the way I think about life immeasurably and continue to do so. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to do it

Check out Joe’s Green Room playlist here and watch new episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience each week on Spotify. 

Green Room By Joe Rogan Playlist