Spotify has nabbed The Joe Rogan Experience – one of the world’s most popular podcasts – in an exclusive deal.
In its most aggressive move into podcasting yet, Spotify has agreed a multi-year deal with Rogan, which will see his flagship show aired only via Spotify from September 1.
The podcast, which racked up a reported 190 million downloads a month in 2019, will be available free to all Spotify users, regardless of whether they have a Premium account. Spotify doesn’t charge for access to any podcasts hosted on its platform.
In the announcement Rogan said the entire library of audio and video versions of the podcast will become exclusive to Spotify by the end of the year. He assured his loyal army of listeners that “it will remain the exact same show” and he will “not be an employee of Spotify.”
Rogan added: “The only difference is it will now be available on the largest audio platform in the world.”
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It does mean the content will no longer be available on any of the other platforms, which means Apple’s Podcasts app will lose access to the audio version and YouTube will lose the videos.
Spotify is making a massive push into podcasting as it looks to cement its position as the world’s most powerful audio provider. It has recently acquired the shows underneath The Ringer umbrella, while it is also working with the Obama’s production company.
Spotify added: “From his earliest days behind the mic, Joe has been a commentator, fixture, and driving force in culture helping to lay the foundation for the podcasting renaissance we are experiencing today. While Spotify will become the exclusive distributor of JRE, Rogan will maintain full creative control over the show.”
Will JRE moving to Spotify change where you get all of your podcasts? Share your thoughts with us @trustedrecviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
