Spotify has revealed it paid more than $100 million to podcasters — including hosts like Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper — during the first three months of 2025.
While shows like The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy, and This Past Weekend with Theo Von aren’t Spotify exclusives, the company’s Partner Program — which it launched in January — allows creators to earn revenue by advertising revenue earned by plays in an episode, as well as when Premium subscribers watch ads on video shows.
The Spotify Partner Program is eligible for podcasters in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Despite Rogan’s show no longer being exclusive to Spotify, the company still inked him to a $250 million deal last year, which included a clause for revenue sharing and the ability to publish the show on YouTube.
The $100 million figure paid out to podcasters is an impressive one. Patreon said it paid podcasters $472 million in 2024 with more than 6.7 million members subscribing to podcasts on the platform last year.
Meanwhile, YouTube — which includes more than just podcasts, so it isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison — claims it has paid content creators more than $70 billion between 2021 and 2024, with payouts increasing each of those years.
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