(CelebrityAccess) — Joe Budden, one of Spotify’s most popular exclusive podcasters, announced he’s leaving the platform.
In the most recent episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, first reported by The Verge, he said that after Sept. 23rd, his show will no longer be exclusive to Spotify, while strongly suggesting that the platform might not carry his podcast at all.
“I cannot tell you where this podcast will be, but as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify,” Budden said.
Budden went on to accuse Spotify of failing to properly reward the success of his podcast, which has been exclusive to Spotify since 2018.
He claims he has never been given a bonus, despite exceeding vastly exceeding the streamer’s audience expectations for his show and alleges that Spotify even backed away from providing a promised Rolex watch when the one he selected was “too expensive.”
“That was the first time it dawned on me that Spotify is pillaging. You pillage the audience from the podcast, and you’ve continued to pillage each step of the way without any regard,” Budden said in the podcast.
In a statement to The Verge, Spotify confirmed his departure: “As Joe referenced on his show, we made him a considerable offer — one that was significantly larger and many times the value of the existing agreement and reflective of the current market and size of his audience. Unfortunately, we could not come to terms and we respect his wishes to find a new home for his show.”
Budden, who first made a name for himself as the rapper behind hits such as “Pump It Up” announced he was retiring from music in 2018 for a career as a podcaster.
