Joe Rogan Admits Massive Spotify Payday “Feels Gross” in Midst of Pandemic

Joe Rogan was already wildly successful and presumably pretty, pretty rich before he signed a new deal with Spotify. But, recently the comedian and UFC commentator admitted that he’s reached a new stratosphere of wealth, on account of his podcast moving to the platform.

Rogan comments on his new Spotify deal

Recently Rogan confirmed that Spotify has reached a new deal with him to host “The Joe Rogan Experience”. According to reports, the deal could amount to more than $100 million dollars.

Since then, Rogan spoke with The New York Times. Rogan wouldn’t confirm how much the deal is for, but while discussing the financial component of it, he did say this.

“Weirdly richer,” Rogan said, while talking about how he feels after signing the massive agreement. “Like it doesn’t register. Seems fake.”

“It feels gross,” the comedian added, before referring to the ongoing, COVID-19 pandemic. “Especially right now, when people can’t work.”

Yup. There’s no question that is a massive, massive amount of money. 

The show moving forward

Due to the new deal, some people have questioned whether the show will remain autonomous and if Rogan will be free to run the program as he wishes, or say what he wants. The lifelong martial artists has insisted that The Joe Rogan Experience will remain the same, and he repeated that to the NY Times.

“Why would I sell out now? You sell out to get what you want.”

And, while reflecting on new media and how influential it has become, Rogan also said this. 

“Nobody ever thought: We need to gear our entertainment, our media, to people who cook, who jog, who hike, people who drive.

Even books on tape can require too much thinking.” But a podcast, he said, “doesn’t require that much thinking at all. You get captivated by the conversation. One of the things about this medium in general is that it’s really easy to listen to while you do other stuff.”

“What Twitter is and what YouTube is are way bigger than a social media company. There is a real good argument that they should be like public utilities,” Rogan said.

“What has made society better today than it was hundreds of years ago is not just our prosperity. It’s the evolution of ideas. Anything that wants to limit discussion is dangerous to the evolution of ideas.”

It will be interesting to see where JRE  goes from there. The show already garners interest from significant politicians, celebrities and industry figures. So, chances are that will continue moving forward.