How Joe Rogan became the poster child for Spotify’s podcast business
To Spotify, Rogan’s cross-partisan, youthful, mass appeal is hard to resist
Ideological whiplash
When the Federal Communications Commission introducedthe Fairness Doctrinein 1949, radio and television broadcasters were required to present controversial ideas in a manner that reflected multiple perspectives. However, the combination of cable television, niche consumer targeting and President Ronald Reagan’s deregulatory FCCsucceeded in toppling the mandate.
By 1987, conservative talk radio figures such asRush Limbaugh embraced fully partisan approachesto content creation and audience accumulation. Ignoring their political opponents as potential listeners, they veered further and further to the right, garnering an increasingly homogeneous audience whom advertisers could easily target.
Later, as Fox News’ popularity and reach grew, it took a similar tack, promoting conservative media personalities like Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson andGreg Gutfeldto preach to the right-wing choir.
Today, some conservative voices such asBen ShapiroandSteven Crowdertake this logic a technological step further,embracing the silo-ing effects of social media algorithmsto connect with those users most likely to engage with and disseminate their content. Although such figures certainly offend those who disagree with them, their place in the mediasphere is well-established and mostly ignored by opponents.
Rogan, by contrast, is prone to ideological whiplash.
Initially,he supported Bernie Sanders for president in 2020. Thenhe flipped to Donald Trump. He interviews and asks open-ended questions to figures ranging from staunchly left-leaning voices such asCornel WestandMichael Pollanto right-wing charlatans includingStefan MolyneuxandAlex Jones.
There is no political commonality among these people. But there is a demographic connection. For one, they are all men,as are the vast majority of guestson “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
They are also provocative guests that appeal to young people and particularly young men,a group that is notoriously difficult to aggregate,often has disposable incomeand has a tendencyto believe that mainstream political ideas don’t reflect their own.
While Fox News sells politics to TV watchers, Rogan sells a sense of edgy authenticity to podcast listeners. His blend of comedy and controversy certainly has political implications, but from his perspective, it isn’t politics. It’s demographics.
Spotify’s main attraction
Rogan’s economic model of accumulating young male listeners, who make up a good chunk of his11 million listeners per episode, is particularly powerful in today’sfractured media environment.
Rogan is, for worse and for better, a true outlier in the world of contemporary talk media. Most political and many comedy podcasts employ the business model of finding an ideological space, connecting via cross-promotion and guest selection with similar shows, andallowing the algorithms of social media to drive traffic their way.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” takes this idea and pulls it in multiple, contradictory directions. Media figures left and right have – until now, at least – coveted opportunities to appear on the show. Once a comedian or podcaster has saturated their own political space, Rogan offers a chance to win over new converts and, in principle,have a discussion that breaks free of partisan constraints. For many Rogan fans, this breadth of discussion and freedom from norms is the heart of the show.
Rogan, however, is far from a neutral host of a new public sphere. His feigned naiveté is all too often a cover to promote edgy, offensive and irresponsible theories that appeal to his audience’sself-styled suspicion of authority.
He pushes the boundaries of political discourse by “just asking questions,” but then hides behindhis background as just a comedianto distance himself from any undesirable repercussions.
Spotify, like other streaming services, is primarily built on a wide range of content creators, each of whom attracts a small, dedicated audience, but none of whom are, on their own, particularly powerful.
Rogan is the closest thing to a mass cultural product to be found in the podcast world. He is also one of the only names in podcasting big enough to garner headlines, good or bad. For a company like Spotify trying to boost subscriptions, Rogan’s cross-partisan, youthful, mass appeal is very hard to resist.
Rogan’s recent apologies, however, prove that he is not impervious to pressure. We suspect Spotify will try to thread the needle: covering up Rogan’s penchant for misinformation and offensive provocation just enough to meet the minimum standard of acceptable corporate citizenship without tarnishing the comedian’s brand and demographic appeal.
This article byMatt Sienkiewicz, Associate Professor of Communication and International Studies,Boston CollegeandNick Marx, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies,Colorado State Universityis republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
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