Joe Rogan explained how he convinced Spotify to offer a video platform for his podcast, instead of turning it into an audio-only broadcast, by referring to the iconic moment when Elon Musk smoked weed.
Joe Rogan’s podcast has produced many iconic moments in recent years. We’ve seen everything from him defend Kanye West from people who call him crazy to making his desk wider in fear of an energized Mike Tyson.
Still, nothing compares to the time Elon Musk smoked a joint on the podcast during his first appearance in Episode #1169. It was an unexpected but pleasant surprise to fans.
However, the iconic moment also played an important role in negotiations with Spotify. In Episode #1607, Joe explained how Spotify originally wanted to only do audio recordings of his podcast. But then he and his manager convinced them to include video by referring to the moment Elon Musk smoked weed.
“They created video because of the conversation we had about this podcast,” he said. “They wanted the podcast to be audio-only. And my manager was like, think about the Elon Musk moment when Elon Musk was smoking weed. That was a viral moment that only happens with video.”
“I remember I was at the airport… and I’m looking at this CNN monitor, and it shows Elon smoking weed on my podcast,” he said. “And I’m like, oh no! I was like, what have I done?”
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“But those moments, those crazy viral moments, they don’t exist without video,” he added. “And my manager said that to Spotify, and Spotify was like, you’re right, and then they started working on the video platform.”
It’s not just the viral moments that happen on the set. It’s also the studio itself. Given Joe Rogan built a new one back in September 2020, he’d want to show it off on camera.
Joe’s podcast became a Spotify exclusive after he signed a multi-million dollar deal. Some fans aren’t convinced it was the right move even though he is adamant that he had a good reason to make the switch.
Either way, they’ll be relieved to know that Spotify listened to Joe’s suggestion in this instance. They can thank Elon Musk for deciding to take a puff from the joint.
