Joe Rogan's 2020 Spotify deal is reportedly worth over $200 million, double of what was initially revealed

Joe Rogan signed a multi-million dollar deal with Spotify in May 2020 to exclusively stream his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. While the deal was initially reported to be worth more than $100 million, its real value has now been disclosed to be at least worth $200 million.

Spotify ventured into the podcasting space, relying on the deal with Rogan's wildly popular podcast. However, the company has been embroiled in several controversies since bringing on board the UFC color commentator.

Rogan recently made headlines after inviting renowned anti-vaxxer Dr. Robert Malone to his podcast. Things worsened when a compilation of him using the 'N-word' went viral on social media. Folk music icon Neil Young pulled down his music from Spotify to protest against the platform's support for Rogan.

Young was followed by artists like Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Graham Nash, India Arie, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. Addressing the Rogan-Spotify controversy, Neil Young wrote in an open letter on his website:

"In our communication age, misinformation is the problem. Ditch the misinformers. Find a good clean place to support with your monthly checks. You have the real power. Use it. To the musicians and creators in the world, I say this: You must be able to find a better place than Spotify to be the home of your art. To the workers at Spotify, I say Daniel Ek is your big problem – not Joe Rogan. Ek pulls the strings. Get out of that place before it eats up your soul. The only goals stated by Ek are about numbers – not art, not creativity."

However, Young's music is now back on Spotify, which has led to people (like podcaster Dinesh D'Souza below) taking a dig at the musician.

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Joe Rogan opens up on the Spotify controversy

Joe Rogan initially issued an apology on Instagram for the use of the 'N-word', while also claiming that his words had been taken out of context. Rogan later stated that the controversy was a planned "political hit job".

More recently, Rogan admitted that the comments sounded racist even to his own self. The 54-year-old said during a stand-up set in Austin, Texas:

“Even to me! I’m me and I’m watching it saying, 'Stop saying it!' I put my cursor over the video and I’m like, 'Four more minutes?!' I haven’t used that word in years... But it’s kind of weird people will get really mad if you use that word and tweet about it on a phone that’s made by slaves.”