Rumble May Be Joe Rogan's Best Option
Rumble has offered Joe Rogan $100 million to join its service, according to an open letter CEO Chris Pavlovski posted on Twitter.
"We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation," the letter begins. "So we'd like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place. How about you bring all your shows to Rumble, both old and new, with no censorship, to 100 million bucks over four years?"
While Spotify has not yet caved to the mob and canceled Rogan, the relationship may have run its course. To ease tensions with low-level Spotify staffers, CEO Daniel Ek has apologized for...oh, something about harm and values... and has pledged to spend $100 million on groups that progressives support.
In other words, Ek will waste $100 million in hopes the woke will forgive him. But they won't. This politically-motivated witch hunt to break Rogan does not end until he surrenders or Spotify cuts ties with Rogan completely. There is no third option. Rogan dared to ask questions about our dear leaders, and now their minions plan to destroy him.
At some point, Rogan will grow tired of wondering when Ek will bend, since all stooges ultimately do. The vultures may also manufacture a scandal to bring down Ek first. That's another option. Meanwhile, Rogan's long-term future with Spotify hardly looks promising. Everyone gets this, including Rumble.
I suspect Rumble appeals to Rogan. Rumble is a free-speech alternative to YouTube. But unlike most alternative tech platforms, Rumble has staying power and financial backing. In December, SPAC CF Acquisition VI agreed to take Rumble public in a deal that would provide Rumble $400 million in proceeds. Rumble has exclusive deals with former U.S. congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, journalist Glenn Greenwald and podcaster Dan Bongino. Rumble will eventually become a destination for multimedia hosts who want to cut out corporate interference, like Substack is for journalists. Rogan supports alternative tech anyway, often promoting DuckDuckGo over Google and Brave over Google Chrome.
Considering Rogan's reach and potential, Rumble's offer seems low at first. While it's worth $100 million total, that's spread out over four years, for an average salary of $25 million a year -- hardly big-time money for the guy with the biggest podcast on the market. For comparison, Spotify pays Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper $20 million a year, while FanDuel agreed to pay Pat McAfee $30 million a year in 2021. The Joe Rogan Experience is larger than Cooper and McAfee's shows combined.
Cooper and McAfee's deals suggest Rogan is worth at least $40 million a year. From that perspective, $25 million a year probably underwhelms Rogan. However, he has become so controversial that his market power could soon diminish. That's sad, but it's also reality. Companies like Netflix, Amazon and HBO would not dare host him on their platforms.
Some say that Rogan could ditch Big Tech altogether and return to complete independence. I'm skeptical.
Before Spotify, Rogan did not have an exclusive home for his podcast. He used an RSS Feed to distribute his podcast in audio form on various services, such as Apple. Then he would post the video shows in full length on YouTube, a platform where independent thinkers go to die.
Because Rogan has become significantly more controversial since the pandemic, there's virtually no way YouTube or Apple could withstand the calls to censor Rogan. Google and Apple would both bow quickly to the first corporate hit piece or angry rocker who came after them for supporting Rogan, regardless of whether they call themselves platforms or publishers.
Moreover, Big Tech works in such lockstep that tech companies could deter Rogan from creating his own platform. The same media pundits pressuring Spotify to ban Rogan would demand Apple and Google remove Rogan's content from their app stores. Joe Rogan is not Alex Jones, but the Left now treats him that way.
Should Rogan move to Rumble, the deal may need to include a clause that allows Rogan to distribute his audio content elsewhere while offering his videos exclusively to Rumble. Though Rogan's video clips trend on social media, much of his audience still consumes his show in podcast form. Rogan would be foolish to forgo a traditional podcast offering.
If Spotify ditches Rogan, he'll need to find a home or two to distribute his content on, platforms not at the mercy of cowardly millionaires and billionaires. Those are hard to find. Yet Rumble appears to be one such option.