ATTENTION EVERYONE

If you are one of the millions of people who, at one time or another over the past 10 to 15 years, said that you couldn't make a living talking into a microphone being a podcaster, would you please step forward and offer your heartfelt apologies to Joe Rogan?

Thank you for your cooperation.

I'm even going to step up and apologize.

Not because I think you couldn't make a living at it — I've just always advised people not to talk for two-and-a-half or three hours like Joe Rogan does on a consistent basis. I kind of feel like he might have heard that advice passed along and he smiled and said hold my beer.

And here we are.

Rogan has had one of the top listened-to podcasts for at least half a decade, and his jump to Spotify in 2020 stunned people in the industry with what he was paid and guaranteed to earn moving over to the streaming platform. Originally, it was thought that his contract would pay him $100 million over the three and a half years that is estimated to be the contract's life. However, as it is noted below, that number ended up being 100 million dollars short of the real deal.

Spotify's massive contract for Joe Rogan is reportedly worth upwards of $200 million, double what the deal was previously thought to be worth, the New York Times reported Thursday. Rogan's contract covers 3.5 years of exclusivity on his podcasts for the streaming giant.

Now that the time is fast approaching the end of the deal sometime in the first half of next year, speculation is rampant about whether he will stay with Spotify, whether they can even afford to keep him, and if they can't, where he will go.

Joe Rogan has seen his podcast, the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience), reach incredible heights in the past few years. The former ‘Fear Factor’ host received a staggering $200 million from Spotify in 2020 to secure exclusive rights to the podcast for their platform. And since then, the podcast has only kept growing in its reach and the caliber of guests that appear on the show! With Rogan’s contract set to expire soon, many suitors are lining up to secure his services, reportedly including X boss Elon Musk.

Elon Musk, the tech mogul and billionaire, has made multiple appearances on the show. And fans have found every single one of them more entertaining than the last. However, his recent appearance on the JRE episode no. #2054 was also streamed on Twitter/X despite the exclusivity contract with Spotify. This has led to Musk receiving an interesting proposition from another notable figure in the podcast world. And he has quoted Jay-Z as the reason behind the plan by stating, “Joe Rogan is a business, man.”

Now, you might think that Rogan is a little bit too controversial in that since he has been on Spotify, he's had boycotts instituted by people like Neil Young (who I was stunned was still alive) and was hammered for going after CNN for what he felt was mischaracterizing the drug he was taking after he contracted COVID in 2021.

Obviously, the reason Spotify didn't cut him loose and Joe was able to keep on chugging was because he was making money for the platform. In fact, in the turbocharged woke era, Rogan has not only been able to survive but surpass his previous achievements and beat his future expectations with his show.

Since Elon Musk bought X (Twitter), he has been slowly changing the platform into more of a multimedia outlet, and Rogan might be a perfect fit.

X (or the platform formerly known as Twitter) has instituted Twitter Spaces, adding a video streaming component, and has started to pay creators based on their reach with the newly formed entity. This has been the main push that Musk has been driving towards in the years since he bought the platform.

Being that Elon has been on Rogan's show, "The Joe Rogan Experience," a number of times and Rogan's contract is ending soon, it would not be shocking if Elon was making a serious play to bring one of the most listened-to podcasters to his newly formed entity, X.

Rogan's show has grown and stayed consistent because of his way of being both entertaining and informative. His background as a comic is invaluable, and his curious mind allows him to think as a member of his audience. 

I believe I heard Rogan say once that one of the best compliments he gets is when a member of his audience says, "You asked a question that I would have thought to ask."

I have a radio show and a podcast called "Duke Over America" and also do a Facebook Live of the same name, during the week. Having something similar said to me — on rare occasions — I can attest that you get a charge out of it and feel like you have connected with your audience, if even for a brief moment.

(Right before their mind is changed and you get told you are a Donald Trump/Joe Biden lover and hate America. Stuff happens in the biz.)

I'm glad that Joe Rogan is having the enormous success that he is, and if, for some reason, he does not end up skipping over to Twitter for hundreds of millions of dollars, I humbly offer my services to Elon Musk at a greatly discounted price — approximately 10 percent off if I get signed up by the end of the year. Let's do this, Elon. Call my people — right after I hire people.

With Joe Rogan leading the way, the hope for podcasters is that the future is so bright, we have to wear shades.