Is Joe Rogan going to #DropSpotify?
The Canadian video sharing platform, Rumble, just made an offer that he may not be able to refuse.
Rumble Offers Joe Rogan $100M to #DropSpotify
Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski… pic.twitter.com/G7ahfNNjtP
— Rumble (@rumblevideo) February 7, 2022
On Monday morning, Rumble shared a tweet that contained a letter from Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski.
The tweet read, “Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski…”
The tweet contained a letter to Joe Rogan and his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
“We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation,” the letter began. “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, for 100 million bucks over four years?”
“This is our chance to save the world,” he continued. “And yes, this is totally legit.”
Wait… What Is Rumble?
Big Tech sucks.@Spotify gives in to the mob. Cowards.@joerogan should move to @rumblevideo https://t.co/daYx1IFtDr
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 5, 2022
Rumble was launched in 2013 and is a right-wing alternative to YouTube and “big tech.” It features personalities like Steven Bannon, Dan Bongino, and Dinesh D’Souza. In December 2021, Rumble made a deal with “TRUTH Social,” the social media app that was founded by former President Donald Trump.
The offer comes after Spotify has reportedly pulled more than 100 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast from their streaming service. Rogan has faced criticism in recent weeks over his controversial guests and their polarizing opinions on COVID-19. The COVID-19 controversy led to artists like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash all pulling their music from the streaming service.
In recent days, Rogan has again come under fire for the use of the “N-word” in his podcasts, some of which happened more than a decade ago. Artist India Aria said that Rogan’s offensive language about race was the reason that she was pulling her music from the streaming service. After she posted a video montage of Rogan saying the “N-word” to her Instagram account, Rogan quickly put out a six-minute video offering his “sincerest apologies.”
Spotify CEO Insists ‘I Do Not Believe That Silencing Joe Is The Answer’
It remains to be seen if Joe Rogan will take Rumble up on their deal, especially since Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has defended his position on the streaming service.
Although Ek “strongly” condemned Rogan’s use of the racial slur, he said that it was necessary to keep Rogan on the streaming service to “[elevate] all types of creators.”
As The Blast previously reported, Spotify has no intention of canceling Joe Rogan.
“I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,” Ek said. “We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.”
In a letter to staff members, Ek said that he would try to right some of the harm done by making an “incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups” to boost “all types of creators.”
“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek added.
What Do Joe Rogan’s Fans Want Him To Do?
Rumble: We’ll pay you to say the n-word. https://t.co/IEp6oYxtOz
— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) February 7, 2022
Although Ted Cruz said that Rogan should move to Rumble, many fans were critical of Rumble’s offer and felt that Rogan was better off sticking with Spotify, especially considering the wording of the offer.
Editor Jordan Fisher mocked the tweet, writing, “Rumble: We’ll pay you to say the n-word.”
“This is our chance to save the world,” one user quoted. “Bro it’s literally just a podcast.”
“Wow,” another user wrote. “Where the h— did Rumble find $100M?”
“Dear Rumble, I’ll do a full-time show for 20 dollars for 4 years,” another wrote. “Get the paperwork drawn up.”
“Hey Rumble is this deal for anyone?” another asked. “I was thinking of starting a podcast and would do it for 100 million dollars.”
Video platform Odysee also jumped in on the action by posting a parody letter to their Twitter account with an even better offer for Joe Rogan!
Odysee Jokingly Offers Joe Rogan 100 Gazillion Bucks!
Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @jvlchandra… pic.twitter.com/D97VDIstpb
— odysee (@OdyseeTeam) February 7, 2022
In a parody letter posted to Twitter, Odysee had their own offer for Joe Rogan.
“We stand with you, your guests, and your legions of fans in desire for real conversation,” the letter began. “So, we’d like to offer you 100 gazillion reasons to make the world a better place.”
“How about you bring all your shows to Odysee, both old and new, with no censorship (including criticisms of Israel and Donald Trump), for 100 gazillion bucks over four years?”
“This is our chance to save the world,” they continued. “And yes, this is totally legit and not just a marketing ploy for attention.”
if we had a 100 million in liquid cash, we’d spend it all on you guys (the creators trying to get established).
we wouldn’t do the whole d-live / pewdiepie thing
— odysee (@OdyseeTeam) February 7, 2022
In a follow-up tweet, Odysee wrote, “if we had a 100 million in liquid cash, we’d spent it all on you guys (the creators trying to get established). We wouldn’t do the whole d-live / pewdiepie thing.”
