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Joe Rogan's podcast continues to reign supreme atop the Spotify charts, surpassing rival shows on the digital music platform with its continued dominance.
In 2020, Spotify shelled out a hefty $100 million for the exclusive audio rights to The Joe Rogan Experience podcast (JRE). However, last month, they upped the ante, striking a deal with Rogan for a massive $250 million over several years.
Now that the podcast is no longer bound by exclusive agreements, it is accessible on other platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.
For the first time, there's a tangible grasp of the scale of Rogan's podcast audience. Per a recent Bloomberg report, Spotify has begun experimenting with a new feature revealing podcasts' follower counts.
JRE isn't just leading the pack on Spotify; it's towering over the competition by almost threefold, as highlighted in the report, with TED Talks Daily as the second most popular. With a staggering 14.5 million followers, it eclipses other heavy hitters like Call Her Daddy boasting 3.7 million followers and Crime Junkie with 3.3 million.
Further insights from the report unveil that the podcast hosted by the UFC veteran commentator is nearly 15 times more followed than Theo Von's This Past Weekend, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, and The Ben Shapiro Show.
Rogan's Spotify following remains smaller than his 16.4 million YouTube subscribers and 18.9 million followers on Instagram. However, it's noteworthy that the 56-year-old New Jersey native accumulated this Spotify following in just four years, with his show only debuting on the platform in 2020.
What were the controversies linked to Joe Rogan's podcast in the past?
Joe Rogan is no stranger to stirring online outrage due to remarks that some may deem offensive on his podcast. He's welcomed several controversial figures, such as conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos. Spotify has removed certain episodes featuring his most contentious guests.
Although Rogan's show consistently ranks as the platform's top podcast, it frequently stirs controversy for Spotify. Notably, in 2022, the company faced immense pressure to remove Rogan due to his comments regarding anti-coronavirus vaccines and his anti-Semitic remarks. This resulted in some musicians, including Neil Young, pulling their music from the platform in protest.
In February 2022, Rogan featured Dr. Robert Malone on his show, who is recognized for his involvement in the development of mRNA vaccine technology. Despite being banned from X for spreading COVID misinformation, Malone asserted on the podcast that mandates for an experimental vaccine are explicitly unlawful and accused the U.S. government of being out of control.
Both individuals faced criticism for propagating numerous unfounded conspiracy theories, including the debunked notion that hospitals receive financial incentives to inaccurately attribute deaths to COVID-19.
