Source: Courtesy of Joe Budden / Joe Budden
Joe Budden has proved once again that there’s a method to his madness.
Just four months ago, the former rapper, alongside his three cohosts –Rory, Mal, and Parks– ended their exclusivity deal with Spotify in hopes of moving on to greener pastures. No one was sure what that meant as episodes of the podcast continued to be uploaded on Wednesday and Saturday. But now, we see that starting The Joe Budden Podcast Network, creating “See, The Thing Is…” and “Girl I Guess,” weren’t the only thing he had up his sleeve. He’s now taking that content to Patreon. Patreon is a subscription service that hides content behind a paywall, and Budden plans to offer different types of content ranging from $5 to $25. The New Jersey native will also take on a new post at Patreon as the Head Of Creator Equity.
“Every step along the way in my career, I’ve been either underpaid, undervalued or just without the information because they don’t make it transparent to creators, especially young ones, the same young ones that they target,” Budden told Billboard. “The goal since maybe my last album has been to find what true value is. The system is still all the way broken and we’re entering a new decade. At some point, somebody has to draw a line in the sand. I didn’t feel like any of my content was valued properly.”
While at Spotify, Budden explained that he felt like he wasn’t appreciated and that the company pillaged his content. The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal signing with Spotify was the first of its kind in 2018 and was a launchpad for the other podcast deals like Barack and Michelle Obama, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and Joe Rogan. But when it came to renegotiating after the three-year deal expired, the numbers weren’t right for Budden.
The new deal with Patreon proves that the podcast is no longer free, but it comes with some perks– behind the scenes footage from the podcast, a new Budden-produced series called “Journey,” merchandise discounts, and access to a Discord server.
The first Patreon-exclusive episode of The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal drops February 8 on Patreon.com/JoeBudden.
