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Joe Rogan Is the New Mainstream Media
- aszantu 6y agonah, I jut unsubscribed all his content because I don't like spotify, feeling a little blue but this will wear off soon.
- m463 6y agoThere is so much content online. And joe rogan has almost 1500 old episodes (did they take them down?)
- nabla9 6y agoMoney is good demonstration of how media is changing. Rogan reportedly makes 30 million per year from the show already. He makes more than TV talk show hosts. He really is the new mainstream.
- threeseed 6y agoHe's just another Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh etc. We've had personality talk show hosts for decades and will continue to have them in the decades to come. The media landscape is not fundamentally changing. And how much Spotify paid him is not a reflection of his mainstream popularity. It's a reflection of how much the LTV of his audience is worth. Two very different things.
- im3w1l 6y ago> It's a reflection of how much the LTV of his audience is worth. That may not be it exactly either. What they are paying him to do is bootstrap the spotify podcasting ecosystem. Spotify hopes the publicity will bring in people who don't listen to Joe Rogan as well.
- KirinDave 6y agoIt's not like Rogan is inaccessible right now. He appeals to a different age group, but a similar political demographic.
- TheHypnotist 6y agoAnyone with an iPhone can listen to him easily. I suspect Android was similar.
- adventured 6y ago> What they are paying him to do is bootstrap the spotify podcasting ecosystem. Similar to what Sirius paid Howard Stern to do for them, circa 2004 (for $500 million), for their personality / talk content. Sirius needed a major anchor.
- nipponese 6y agoIt's pretty unfair to compare him to Limbaugh, Rogan's brand is not based on being an ideologue. Certainly he has an opinion, but he frequency brings on guests with diametrically opposing views and is quite courteous and introspective towards them.
- whitehouse3 6y agoThe estimates I’ve seen put it closer to $60 million annually on the low end. Perhaps as high as $240 million.
- misiti3780 6y agoif he makes 60-240MM/year, then taking 100MM for a multi-year spotify contract makes absolutely no sense.
- raydev 6y agoIt makes sense when you consider that before Spotify, he/his team were having to chase down that money with no guarantee, subject to the whims of sponsors and audience and YouTube. Now the money is guaranteed and they can just focus on the content in the show. Sounds like an amazing deal.
- misiti3780 6y agoif the number was 240MM/year, i still think it makes no sense but i guess i do not know how much energy they were spending "chasing down" money
- whitehouse3 6y agoI think the effort is mostly around copystrikes. YouTube demonetizes and removes his videos whenever he plays even a snippet from a copyrighted work. If Spotify's lawyers handle those issues then Rogan can focus more on the show.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- metalliqaz 6y agoand he just bought in to "Obamagate"
- NeutronStar 6y agoWe don't listen to the podcast for Joe but for the guest. Joe is just the "tool" used to make those guests talk.
- fuckNYT 6y agoBut when will NYT finally implode and disappear?
- wrnr 6y agoProbably, but that still doesn't make the NYT the independent alternative edgy medium it would like to be.
- skohan 6y agoMore like the buggy-whip manufacturer being supplanted by the auto industry
- henriquez 6y agoI’m surprised they didn’t try to take him down as a “white nationalist” like they did with PewDiePie. Maybe this is their way of admitting defeat?
- kissickas 6y agoNYT is currently publishing a series of podcasts called "Rabbit Hole" which, in its latest episode, portrayed PewdiePie as a misunderstood guy who is definitely not a white nationalist or alt-right. That said, what you are saying could be true at the same time. I don't read the paper and certainly don't care to follow the PewdiePie story. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/podcasts/rabbit-hole-PewDiePie-youtube-virus.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/podcasts/rabbit-hole-PewD...
- henriquez 6y agoNYT was all over WSJ’s takedown of PewDiePie like a fly on a turd. It’s not really that charitable of them to correct the record now that they’re done milking their clickbait controversy for ad revenue. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/technology/pewdiepie-new-zealand-shooting.amp.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/tech...
- ape4 6y agoWhatever media outlet he's on is the new mainstream media
- programmertote 6y agoI keep seeing Joe Rogan's name on Reddit and sometimes on HN. Why does he seem to strike a chord with the demographic that hang out on Reddit and HN? Why is his podcast good? Is he really a good moderator? Does he provide good insights to the listeners about people he interviews or topics he discuss in his podcast?
- tw04 6y agoIn my brief viewing he pretends to be unbiased. Unfortunately that generally consists of bringing on nut jobs like Alex Jones and pretending their fabricated claims are just as worthy of discussion as actual subject matter experts bringing facts and logic. Downvoting because you like Joe Rogan? Fitting there's no actual RESPONSE, because what I posted is accurate. Joe Rogan: "Alex Jones is just misunderstood" - the guy who ran with the Sandy Hook conspiracy and was likely a major contributing factor in one of the parents committing suicide. Joe Rogan's "unbiased" approach is toxic. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/14/joe-rogan-says-misunderstood-alex-jones-was-right-/ https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/aug/14/joe-rogan-s... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5qbaxYhbL8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5qbaxYhbL8
- lagadu 6y agoEverything is worthy of discussion and everyone's opinion is valuable no matter how much I may dislike them/disagree with them. I feel like this because the alternative is having a gatekeeper who tells everyone whose opinion is worth spreading and whose should be silenced and I prefer living in a non-totalitarian society. Unless I'm that gatekeeper of course: I'm down for subjugating society to my personal preference of what's right and wrong. edit: I may think that Alex Jones is an idiot but I still want him to be able to get as much exposure as someone I like.
- tw04 6y agoEveryone's opinion is NOT valuable. That thinking is exactly why 5G towers are being burned down. The media - Joe Rogan included - has decided that your OPINIONS carry the same weight as scientific FACT and "let the listeners decide". That'll absolutely attract viewers from all walks of life - and it's a disservice to all of them.
- lowdose 6y agoDisappointing ad hominem, expected a better analysis about viewpoints instead of the people he invites. Joe Rogan is unique not because of his guests but what he talks about with his guests, these topics are not covered by the mainstream. If the institutional gate keepers want to declare a new main stream than also embrace people with a more nuanced point of view instead of this fully scripted narrative they publish 24/7. When was the last positive article published by the NYTimes about Russia, the Republican party or even number 45? I wish the main stream isn't as compromised as it is. Until then I have to listen to Joe Rogan & the portal to tap into nuanced thoughtful content.
- StriverGuy 6y agoConsidering Joe has millions of listeners I would say he is mainstream, but then again I am probably talking to a wall by making this comment.
- lowdose 6y agoI think that is more a quantification of the unmet need mainstream media creates by not discussing topics like DMT and the simulation hypothesis. The long form of content enables conversations even about the most fringe topics. The Overton window doesn't magically shifts when millions of people are serviced by a 3th party outside the Overton window.
- mellosouls 6y agoExactly, the mainstream has always been there; but the "mainstream" media has long been talking down to it rather than with it, and this void in respect of the common man and woman is something that centrist people like Rogan fill by just being open to a variety of opinion and ideas, and refusing to demonise people because they don't sign up to ivory tower prescriptions and proscriptions.
- skohan 6y agoIt will be interesting to see how it goes. On the one hand, this could be a lot like Stern going to satellite radio: he went from being one of the biggest personalities in media to someone I don't ever think about. At the same time, it's super interesting that Rogan negotiated a deal which appears to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars for Spotify to licence his content for 3 years, after which point he could put it all back on YouTube if he wanted. The fact that he had that kind of leverage as an independent creator who started by recording his friends clowning around at his house and now has presidential candidates knocking at his door begging for an interview shows the power of independent media
- cwhiz 6y agoI have been watching his podcast for a while but I won’t follow him to Spotify. I would switch to Spotify if Spotify would create a proper Apple Watch app with LTE streaming. Unfortunately, Spotify seems intent on trying to “punish” Apple. I think the JRE brand will be diminished but only time will tell.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- k12sosse 6y agoDon't get it mistaken. Spotify hate all of their users, not just the Apple crowd. They tinker with their app too much, and with seemingly little value. Yep, I'm still pissed about removing long press to preview
- webninja 6y agoAt least the Spotify UX is still better than Apple Music! I'd love it if Spotify would let you sort your playlists by last listened to like Pandora somewhere in the app. Currently I have to search and scroll every time to nearly the bottom of the library to find my Workout playlist which I use religiously at the gym.
- koheripbal 6y ago
- KirinDave 6y agoFox News has been the hyper-profitable and true mainstream media for awhile now. They make a lot of money because they're pandering to a slight minority opinion that is often not well supported by other organizations. Put another way: they manufacture and distribute information that otherwise wouldn't exist and this is actually in very high demand by people with a message. In short, supply is scarce for reactionary messaging and when effective communicators do emerge in that market they immediately find a ton of interested parties throwing money at them. Rogan is an extension of that phenomenon, and it's the reason he makes lots of money. He's a lot like Limbaugh or Hannity in his career path; by showing a willingness to cater to authoritarian reactionary views, he's opened himself up to a lot of media opportunities. What's weird about the narrative around Rogan is that he was ever "alternative" to begin with. He's been indistinguishable in methodology from the average conservative pundit for some time. His guest lists are very similar to the average conservative pundit. That he used a different broadcast media isn't that significant. He panders to the same sorts of audience segments in a younger audience.
- rayiner 6y agoJoe Rogan is an “average conservative pundit?” He’s an agnostic who is antagonistic to the Catholic Church. And, from his Wikipedia page: > He has described himself as being "pretty liberal" and supports gay marriage, gay rights, women's rights, recreational drug use, universal healthcare, and universal basic income, while also supporting the Second Amendment. He also has criticized American foreign policy of military adventurism. He’s basically Howard Dean; and to the left of Joe Biden for the most part.
- CSMastermind 6y ago> But there is also a very practical reason Rogan can say whatever he thinks: He is an individual and not an organization. Eric Weinstein, another podcaster and a friend of Rogan, told me, “It’s the same reason that a contractor can wear a MAGA hat on a job and an employee inside Facebook headquarters cannot: There is no HR department at ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’.” I think that might be the takeaway for me: modern companies have over-optimized for political correctness. I wish more companies would be honest about their politics and that of their employees.
- Invictus0 6y agoWhy would a company actively alienate half of their customers by publicly aligning with one party or the other, when they can just donate quietly with the same effect? I have friends that still don't eat at Chick-Fil-A after the CEO political donations scandal.
- jeromegv 6y agoA MAGA hat is just another way of saying by "Mexicans are rapist", which was part of the whole MAGA launch. I totally understand why an organization, that employs a very diverse workforce, wouldn't want this kind of opinion being expressed. I wish that people that advocated for less political correctness would actually list the opinions that they would want to see expressed publicly. What is specifically something that you wish was being said in public discourse that is not allowed now?
- SpicyLemonZest 6y agoWell, for example, it'd be nice if people were allowed to say "make America great again". It seems like a serious problem if such a vague, generic statement is interpreted as a coded message about Mexicans.
- RandomTisk 6y agoMost isolated people on the left still believe Trump was referring to nazi's/white nationalists as "good people" when he made that "good people on both sides" comment. If they would just step out of their bubble for one moment they would realize they've been lied to. NYT articles like this are IMO designed to keep people from wanting to leave the bubble.
- Ericson2314 6y agoSome of problems they mention on content are real, but ugh I hate the pace of podcasts (even if I adjust the speed, the problem is I don't want a constant rate) and much rather read. Are the reading > listen types really a dying breed?
- dorchadas 6y agoIt's nice to see someone else say this. I would much rather read than listen (or watch, as well). Perhaps it's because I can go at my own pace, and easily go back and to review something already said or connect ideas, but I just find it a struggle to stay focused on listening/watching anything for that long.
- nojito 6y agoShock jock radio hosts are nothing new. Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, etc. I really wish we could get an editorial/opinion tag on articles.
- itsoktocry 6y ago>Shock jock radio hosts are nothing new. Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, etc. If you classify Joe Rogan as a 'shock jock', then I can only assume you've never listened to the show. The content is nothing like those you mention.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- mellosouls 6y agoI'm not particularly a fan of Rogan - too shouty/sweary/jockish, and I can't read this paywalled article, but its good to see a centrist voice breaking through the oftentimes liberal-left stranglehold on mainstream media. More voices like that will help to keep them honest, which is dearly needed at times.
- Vosporos 6y agoWho the fuck is Joe Rogan?
- shotta 6y agoHow is this any different from Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh, or Art Bell signing distribution contracts?
- Gatsky 6y agoInterestingly he says one of the great attractions of podcasts is that you don’t really have to pay attention. It’s like sitting in front of two interesting people on a plane. Most modern media is too stimulating. Massive budget 3 hour long movies, epic TV series, clickbait websites kaleidoscopic with ads, shrieking tabloids, overproduced hypersexualised pop music... podcasting is just two people talking. It’s a relief, a comfort, it’s humanising. But it will no doubt develop the same perversions as other forms of media now that serious $$$ have arrived. I suspect this will really come into play as the US election approaches.
- pharke 6y agoThere already exist a plethora of over produced podcasts, the thing is they just aren't as good as the more basic interview centered ones. Podcasts didn't invent anything new, conversation is probably one of the oldest human activities after all, and long form interviews and discussions have been popular before even on broadcast media. Podcasts just democratized the media and allowed the audience to find the content that they wanted. Sure people will try to copy its success while also forcing it into the legacy system and they will probably have some degree of success but the portion of the audience that doesn't like that will just seek out the shows that stay true to form. The accessibility of this media means there is a never ending flood of new podcasts being created daily. This is what happens when you successfully lower the barriers that prevent the dissemination of information/content/entertainment/art. Think of it as doing the same thing for interviews as the printing press did for books or what YouTube did for video.
- skohan 6y agoA lot of it has to do with the discovery mechanism. Compare it with Youtube: the content which does well there is inflammatory by nature, because the discovery mechanism is that the thumbnail and title has to grab the user's attention from a grid of similar content. Podcasts AFAIK (or as far as I experience) are largely discovered by word-of-mouth. If I discover a podcast, it is probably because one particular episode was interesting enough that someone brought it up in a conversation. Relevant, thought-provoking conversations lend themselves much better to that form of discovery than cheap emotional appeals. Podcasts are a lot like books in that way.
- mark_l_watson 6y agoI discovered his podcast about 6 weeks ago, but only listened to a few of his recent guests. I liked the episodes I listened to, but I won't bother with Spotify, there is enough great stuff out there. This is much my attitude about "inconvenient" web sites with rollovers, painful Javascript, popups, etc. - I simply immediately leave if content is not easy to digest. I don't mind advertisements but I don't want ads to try to take over my browser. I hope that Spotify works out for Joe Rogan. He seems like a very nice guy.
- ausbah 6y agoI've never been a Joe Rogan fan, I've only followed him in the news whenever he pops up or in some short clips that get milled around social media. So my opinion of him might be misinformed, but I've only ever gotten the impression that Rogan only ever really cares about selling a "neutral" but enticing experience. The focus isn't serious discussions or prodding the arguments of his guests, it's just about him playing the "dumb but curious everyman" as a stand in for the audience letting whoever has the most appealing mantra freely speak their mind. I think this identity as someone who just listen and doesn't question is genuine to him, but it also makes a great selling point as "politically neutral" or "both sides" speak. Some of these ideas are genuinely worthwhile, but when those same thoughts are given even equal weight to the ravings of Alex Jones or Ben Shapiro - I don't see how anyone who is looking for intellectual rigor can derive value from consuming his podcast. If that's a good or bad thing is a value judgment someone has to make personally.
- kjakm 6y agoGiven it's hosted by a comedian and has a diverse range of guests from entertainers to scientists to wackos, I've always thought of it as a show meant to entertain (which occasionally informs). I don't think it has ever pretended to be somewhere for robust intellectual discussion.
- raydev 6y ago> I don't think it has ever pretended to be somewhere for robust intellectual discussion I agree, but many vocal fans on Twitter and YouTube disagree.
- kjakm 6y agoI almost included a point on this in my original comment. You’re right but I get the impression those are the same type of people that think only “intellectuals” like them can truly understand Rick & Morty.
- iorrus 6y agoWhere do you go for "robust intellectual discussion"? One thing about Joe Rogan is that he covers a far broader spectrum of people than anyone else. Who has Alex Jones/Elon Musk/Neil deGrasse Tyson on? To be frank I find most "robust intellectual discussion" stultifying e.g. hacker news has exactly this problem.
- iconhacker 6y agoJoe is really a meat eating fat dumbass.
- unionpivo 6y agoThis wouldn't be so bad if spotify would be accessible in my country. (they are coming to anytime soon for the past 8 years or so) On the other hand i am sure people will keep uploading his stuff ti youtube.
- Stierlitz 6y agoPaywall protected, could anyone provide the full text? ^[ref](https://pastebin.com/ https://pastebin.com/)
- nkurz 6y agoFrequently, if you paste the link into "archive.is" or "outline.com", you can create (and post!) a link to such content yourself. Outline.com doesn't work for NYT articles, but archive.is currently does: http://archive.is/YamoB http://archive.is/YamoB
- ZoomStop 6y agoOn NYT and many other sites you can bypass the paywall by editing the URL and adding a '.' between the .com and the rest of the URL (nytimes.com./2020/...)
- unraveller 6y agoTitle is one of those obviously farfetched and barely supported assertions that the editor must have forcefully decided upon late in the game. Just proves nothing has replaced old mainstream media exactly, it has merely dwindled the more slack it gets for willfully risking a misunderstanding to take place. The definition of Mainstream Media is still the same, as a setter and destroyer of definitions, since it has vast retrospective powers for editing out context to control the degree of controversy seen by the masses. Helped along by a collective of adversarial journalists able to limit discussion with a barrage of assertions and hold sway over mass sentiment through an implied consensus. A one man interviewer does not give any semblance of consensus, it is at best a battle of convictions, but at least you can argue a conviction head on, no arguing with a consensus -- no learning from one either.
- racl101 6y agoIronically, I know more about JRE from YouTube videos. Never heard one podcast proper. But, on the other hand, I am glad I have Spotify subscription cause now I get to continue to enjoy him.
- JSavageOne 6y agoI enjoy Joe Rogan's podcast, but I'm not going to start using Spotify just to listen to his podcasts. Hell Spotify isn't even available in my country. I'm sure the episodes will leak out elsewhere, and if I run into them I'll listen. If Spotify really goes hard on the copyright striking and I don't see the podcasts anymore, well then I guess I'll miss out.
- giarc 6y ago>Rogan is laddish and generous with everyone he sits across from I think this is a big problem for him. I cherry pick some episodes to listen to (depending on the guest). I listened to the Alex Jones interview and was totally appalled by how much he agreed with Jones' wingnut theories. But I've also heard his interview with Alex Honnold (free solo climber) and it was great. I'm afraid his openness with some guests, and his wide audience will just introduce more people to people like Alex Jones.
- chadlavi 6y agoThis is exactly the reason I've never been a fan of his. First of all, Jones didn't just happen to show up for the recording that day; he was either invited on the show on purpose or his publicist asked and Rogan's production said yes. You're responsible for the sort of people and ideas you expose your audience to, especially when it's predominantly teenage boys. Second, as you mentioned, he didn't challenge any of Jones's insane beliefs. Providing an unquestioning platform for dangerous people like that really does a lot to whitewash their reputation and make their ideas more palatable to a wider audience. It's very dangerous. At best it's lazy brohangs masquerading as journalism.
- tc313 6y ago> At best it's lazy brohangs masquerading as journalism. But it's NOT masquerading as journalism. That's Rogan's excuse, whether you accept it or not: He's just a bro having conversations with interesting people.
- chance_state 6y agoApparently they've been friends for 30+ years. >At best it's lazy brohangs masquerading as journalism This is the problem: people coming to the podcast expecting it to be some intellectual journalistic endeavor, when Rogan has never promised anything of the kind. It's a bro-y meat head drinking and smoking weed with some guests. People take it way too seriously and impose their ideas of how Rogan should run his own show.
- 6y ago
- cvaidya1986 6y agoThere’s a “spot” open now.
- waheoo 6y ago> The right has always insisted that the elite left controls the culture. But Rogan’s popularity shows that perhaps that’s no longer true. Is this whole thing just trying to paint joe rogan as alt right again?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- maw 6y agoProbably. But here's an interesting sequence of events: - The alt-right emerges as an influential bloc - Our self-appointed explainers and meaning-makers try and fail to understand it; unable to understand it they're completely unable to explain it - The term "alt-right" is bandied about more or less carelessly, often as an insult or as a way to discount ideological opponents, until: - The term "alt-right" loses much of its meaning and is applied to people with only the most tenuous links to the original group. The same basic thing has happened before and since: think of the neocons and the dirtbag left for example. So, yes, they probably are trying to paint him as alt-right, but not at a level much above "lololol Bro Rogan sux !!!!!!!!". Reassured?
- foob4r 6y agoIf Rogan is MSM, then Spotify killing the open RSS ecosystem is even worse that I thought.
- jeffdavis 6y ago"His success was made possible, at least in part, by legacy media’s blind spots." Blind spots generally persist because someone isn't held to account for reality. In this case, perhaps the editors are not being held to account. But how can that be fixed without just perpetuating the media meta-argument? I guess the answer is variety: if you don't like the editorial decisions here, go somewhere else. That is a necessary solution with a free press, but ideally would not be the first line of defense. The answer in this case is that Joe Rogan is simply taking on all of the roles: editor, interviewer, commentator, and sometimes the subject. But I have to imagine the separate roles were created for a reason... is it a net win?
- bugeats 6y agoThe Joe Rogan episodes with Bari Weiss (the author of this piece) have some of the worst like to disliked ratio in the catalog. She is no friend of the podcast.
- rchaud 6y agoI listen to JRE on and off. He's not the new 'mainstream media' at all. The majority of his guests are entertainers, athletes, and occasionally health and science-related people. I include people like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson in the 'entertainment' category. That being said, he will occasionally have politicians on, and those discussions are interesting as it's not the superficial 5-minute interviews you see on cable news, buttressed by 5 minutes of ads for cars and ED pills. I've really enjoyed Patriot Act w/ Hasan Minhaj on Netflix. 25-minute deep dives into a specific topic, and often international in scope. Great production value, often humorous interviews and I love the on-screen graphics.
- carapace 6y ago> ... I still find the extent of his popularity mind-boggling. Imagine if I had told you, a dozen years ago, that ... A list of stuff that leaves out... Joe Garrelli on NewsRadio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewsRadio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NewsRadio If you had told me that the guy who plays Joe Garrelli was going to be a superstar I would have been surprised, but only a little. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Joe+Garrelli+NewsRadio&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Joe+Garrelli+NewsRadio&iar=videos&...
- cableshaft 6y agoHis last name is Garrelli?
- carapace 6y agoThe character's name is Joe Garrelli. NewsRadio Trivia: Joe Rogan wasn't the first Joe Garrelli, a different actor played him in the pilot.
- cableshaft 6y agoYeah, I was basically quoting the show. I'm a big fan. In the show, people repeatedly say when they hear the character's last name "Your last name is Garrelli?" Examples: https://yarn.co/yarn-clip/73188705-1624-4d6a-9d25-6508f82c0b4b https://yarn.co/yarn-clip/73188705-1624-4d6a-9d25-6508f82c0b... https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/2e4d1f95-e913-43b6-b41b-74822eaf6472 https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/2e4d1f95-e913-43b6-b41b-74822ea...
- carapace 6y agoOMG right! "whoosh!" The sound of that going over my head. Ha ha! My sister just dug out from storage the complete box set of DVDs of the series! Binge watchin' those this week. :)
- jshaqaw 6y agoThis will probably turn out to be capex made as effectively as when Apple bought Beats.
- wdr1 6y agoAny insight into Spotify's podcast buying spree?
- r0rshrk 6y agoSitting here in Asia: No he isn't :)