One of Spotify’s biggest podcasters says he’s taking his show off the platform.
Rapper and broadcaster Joe Budden, whose The Podcast by Joe Budden has been streaming exclusively on Spotify since 2018, says its contract with the tech company will end in September. “We have seven episodes left,” he told listeners on the Wednesday episode of his show. “We are nearing the end of our Spotify contract.”
He explained that as of September 23, “I can not tell you where this podcast will be. But as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify.”
A Spotify spokesman declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations with Budden.
Budden started The Joe Budden Podcast in 2015 and operated it independently, distributing it over the next few years on platforms such as YouTube and iTunes. In 2018, just as Spotify began researching expansion into audio programming without music, the company approached Budden over an exclusive licensing agreement. “It was a whole new idea,” Budden said.
In the two years ago, Spotify has invested hundreds of millions to grow its podcasting business, get studios Gimlet Media, Parcast and The Ringer and inking deals with big name talents including Barack and Michelle Obama. Exclusive podcasts have been a major part of the strategy, with Spotify building on deals with talent like Budden and comedian Amy Schumer to show high profile like The Joe Rogan Experience.
Due to the expansion, The Podcast by Joe Budden has remained one of Spotify’s most popular shows, regularly charting in the top 20 on its podcast charts. As of Wednesday night, the show was ranked at number 9 behind shows The Daily, Crime Junkie en Call her father.
Budden, who has been calling Spotify over the last few months about his show, has taken particular issue with the size of his original two-year deal compared to the amount Spotify paid to get podcast studios. Spotify has announced that The Ringer, for example, sold for nearly $ 200 million. “I will not get into numbers; I have NDAs everywhere,” Budden said, adding that he was “the least paid in my most valuable assets.”
He further stated that he expected to receive a bonus after the first year of his deal due to the performance of the show, but he did not receive any. “I was confused,” he said.
A source familiar with the situation says that Budden was offered a significantly bigger deal than the one he signed in 2018, a fact that Budden confirmed on his podcast when he said: “It’s more money than me have ever been in my life. “But, he added, the offer includes more than just the podcast, and if he would accept” I would not be able to sleep at night. “
Budden said he was not angry or bitter “because, the reality is, we both have our goals,” but his decision is all about having a partner who respects him. “Spotify has never had individual concerns about this podcast,” he said. “Spotify only cared about our contribution to the platform.”
This article originally appeared on THR.com.
