Spotify Snags Joe Rogan's Podcast as Its Latest Exclusive

The video version of the show will also move to Spotify later this year.

May 20, 2020 3 min read

This story originally appeared on Engadget

Spotify has added another major podcast to its audio war chest: The Joe Rogan Experience. On September 1st, the show will arrive on Spotify for the first time, with all users (including those on the free tier) having access to the full JRE archive. At some point before the end of the year, the podcast will become a Spotify exclusive.

The video version of the podcast is also moving to Spotify (which started testing video podcasts this month) as part of the multi-year deal. The show's YouTube channel will remain active, but Rogan said it'll only host clips rather than full episodes. He'll also retain full creative control and ownership of JRE.

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Announcement: the podcast is moving to @spotify! Starting on September 1 the podcast will be available on Spotify as well as all platforms, and then at the end of the year it will move exclusively to Spotify, including the video version. It will remain FREE, and it will be the exact same show. It’s just a licensing deal, so Spotify won’t have any creative control over the show. They want me to just continue doing it the way I’m doing it right now. We will still have clips up on YouTube but full versions of the show will only be on Spotify after the end of the year. I’m excited to have the support of the largest audio platform in the world and I hope you folks are there when we make the switch!
A post shared by Joe Rogan (@joerogan) on May 19, 2020 at 11:30am PDT

With around 190 million downloads per month as of last April, JRE is one of the most popular podcasts on the planet, so it's a huge get for Spotify. The company said JRE has been the most-searched-for podcast on its platform for a long time. It’s clear that Spotify is hoping to use the lure of JRE to reel in more users and subscribers.

It's the latest major stride into podcasting for Spotify. Earlier this year, it bought The Ringer to bolster its slate of sports and entertainment offerings and in 2019, it signed the Obamas’ production company to an exclusive podcast deal. The company has also acquired podcast producers Gimlet Media and Parcast, as well as creation app Anchor.