Rapper and podcaster Joe Budden knows his worth—and that of his chart-topping podcast, The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal.
On Wednesday (Aug. 26), Budden announced his twice-a-week music podcast would no longer stream on Spotify, reports Pitchfork. He also revealed that the show turned down a multimillion-dollar deal to renew their contract.
“It wasn’t a podcast deal,” Budden explained, saying Spotify wanted to own a percentage of hosts Budden, Rory, Mal, and Parks’ projects outside of the show. “September 23rd, I cannot tell you where this podcast will be, but as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify.”
During Episode 375, titled “Views From The SPOT,” Budden told listeners that the streaming service pillaged their content, as well as loosely considered the team’s need for mental breaks amid the pandemic and family crisis.
In addition, Budden felt the podcast—which has secured exclusive interviews with artists like Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, and Chance the Rapper—was “undermined and undervalued.”
Budden went on to discuss budget issues, missing podcast data, and more.
“It was our desire to keep Joe Budden on Spotify,” a Spotify spokesperson told Pitchfork. “As Joe referenced on his show, we made him a considerable offer — one that was significantly larger and many times the value of the existing agreement and reflective of the current market and size of his audience. Unfortunately, we could not come to terms and we respect his wishes to find a new home for his show.”
The final episodes of The Joe Budden Podcast will be available on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They’ve yet to announce where the podcast will stream exclusively next.
