Joe Budden Is Pulling His Podcast From Spotify, Accuses Company Of Pillaging His Audience

“September 23rd, 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,” Joe Budden said during a recent episode.

Joe Budden will be taking his podcast off Spotify after accusing the platform of “pillaging” his audience and never caring “about our contribution to the platform.”

Budden shared the news during the latest episode of The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal.

“September 23rd, I cannot tell you where this podcast will be,” he said, according to the Verge. “But as it stands, I can tell you where it will not be, and that is Spotify.”

During the episode, Budden also said the platform didn’t allow him and his team to take vacation days on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and didn’t offer them bonuses as well. Instead, the company only offered them Rolexes instead. The company also declined a suggestion from Budden to give money away to their fans for Christmas.

“That was the first time it dawned on me that Spotify is pillaging,” he said. “You pillage the audience from the podcast, and you’ve continued to pillage each step of the way without any regard for [the fans.]”

“Spotify never cared about this podcast individually,” he added. “Spotify only cared about our contribution to the platform.”

Spotify has since responded to Budden’s claims.

“It was our desire to keep Joe Budden on Spotify,” the company said in a statement via Pitchfork. “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.”

The Joe Budden Podcast has been a Spotify exclusive podcast for the past two years.