Joe Rogan strikes new $250 million deal with Spotify

An upfront minimum guarantee and a revenue-sharing agreement based on ad sales are included in Rogan's new contract, which is estimated to be worth up to $250 million over its multi-year term, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Spotify announced on Friday that, in accordance with the new licensing agreement, Rogan's podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" will be advertised and distributed across multiple platforms, including a return to YouTube in video format. The program was exclusively available on Spotify per Rogan's prior agreement.

The new deal with Rogan reflects a new approach by Spotify, where instead of demanding exclusivity, top talent of the platform will be able to distribute their shows across other platforms to maximize audience and ad sales.

Rogan, a comedian and UFC commentator, is one of the world's most famous podcasters. His podcast features a wide variety of guests, such as businessmen, politicians, actors, athletes, comedians, and more, which allows his audience to hear perspectives from people from all walks of life.

Spotify signed its first contract with Rogan in 2020. In an attempt to encourage more people to listen to podcasts on Spotify, it consented to pay more than $100 million to bring "The Joe Rogan Experience" there exclusively. The program continues to be by far the most listened to podcast on Spotify.

In 2022, Rogan threatened to terminate his contract with Spotify due to the company's attempt to silence his speech over comments had had made surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the early days of entering the podcast space, Spotify made significant investments in order to grow its greatest shows' listeners. Even though that initial podcasting attempt was expensive, Spotify eventually overtook Apple as the most widely used podcast-listening platform.

Right now, the business is trying to spend its podcast budget more sensibly. Spotify hopes to profit more from the sales of advertisements as a result of widely disseminating Rogan's show as it grows in popularity.