“Call Her Daddy” and “The Joe Rogan Experience” are both no longer exclusive to Spotify.
The widely popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” which is hosted by creator Alex Cooper, has evolved from a comedic, agony aunt-type show to a more broad focus on female empowerment. For three years running, it’s been the second most popular podcast on Spotify after “The Joe Rogan Experience,” so it was no surprise in 2021 when Cooper signed an exclusivity deal with Spotify.
But now, as of Jan. 30, the audio version of the podcast will be available on all audio platforms. Only the video version of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast will remain exclusive to the platform.
In addition, on Feb. 2, Spotify announced that it signed a new, lucrative, $250 million deal with the other big hitter on its service, “The Joe Rogan Experience” — however, the new deal no longer includes any exclusivity requirements. Rogan’s show will now be available across YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and more.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter published on Jan. 31 about the “Call Her Daddy” news, a Spotify spokesperson said that the platform is focused on developing other podcasts, specifically mentioning “Armchair Expert,” “Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain,” and “Science Vs.”
“Leveraging Call Her Daddy‘s strength with audiences and advertisers, we’re expanding the audio version of the show from exclusive to wide distribution while keeping its video episodes exclusive to Spotify. Doing so will help us build on the successful broad rollout of other originals and licensed titles,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement of her own, Cooper added, “For years now, Daddy Gang has been asking to share their favorite Call Her Daddy episodes with friends who aren’t on Spotify. I’m so excited to share the news that my show will now be widely distributed for even more fans to enjoy.”
With Cooper’s video version of the podcast still being a Spotify exclusive, it’s clear that the platform still sees value in exclusivity to some extent. But considering Cooper is not the only one who lost her exclusive gig, this appears to be a larger push from the platform away from its biggest exclusivity contracts.
It’s not just Spotify reducing its big-name contracts. When Twitch and YouTube, for example, reportedly started moving away from “bidding wars” over top creators with platform-exclusive contracts in late 2023, it begged an all-important question: is exclusivity dead?
