Joe Rogan opens up on lucrative Spotify deal: “It seems fake”

Joe Rogan can’t believe his Spotify deal is real.

The UFC commentator and podcast host recently agreed to a deal to have his podcast  “The Joe Rogan Experience” exclusively on Spotify. The deal will pay him more than $100 million which for Rogan doesn’t seem real.

“(I feel) weirdly richer,” Rogan said to The New York Times. “Like it doesn’t register. (It) seems fake.”

For Joe Rogan, he won’t reveal how much he is making from the deal but admits it is hard to say given the state of the world and so many people being unemployed.

“It feels gross (discussing the terms). Especially right now, when people can’t work,” he said.

It is no doubt a massive payday for Joe Rogan but many are disappointed they won’t be able to listen on YouTube or Apple Podcasts anymore.

Yet, for Rogan, he says he would be demonetized on YouTube which helped trigger the move to Spotify.

“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.”

Even though Joe Rogan will be making quite a bit of money, he says the podcast won’t change one bit. He also knows he is not selling out.

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

What this means for his UFC commentary role is uncertain. It seems likely he will continue to commentate North American pay-per-views but he has yet to confirm.

What do you make of Joe Rogan opening up on his Spotify deal?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/25/2020