Joe Rogan signs a $100 million-plus deal with Spotify

101 views
Skip to first unread message

Steve Timko

unread,
May 20, 2020, 6:40:05 PM5/20/20
to TV or Not TV
I enjoy many of Joe Rogan's podcasts, which I watch on YouTube. Especially when he and guests talk about MMA. 
He gives voice to wild conspiracy theories sometimes without challenging them. He supported Bernie Sanders, then announced he would not support Biden and would vote for Trump, leading me to suspect he was supporting Trump the whole time. He considers Alex Jones a friend.
However, he just signed a deal to put his podcast on Spotify that's supposed to be worth more than $100 million.
 
Like I said, I usually catch his YouTube videos, and those will be gone by the end of the year. I doubt I will be following him much longer.

This is certainly a benchmark in the march from traditional network and cable television networks to the New World Order.

PGage

unread,
May 20, 2020, 9:39:23 PM5/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who would in any way utter a sentence to the effect that they enjoy anything having to do with Joe Rogan.

Of course he was always supporting Trump (not the only supposed Bernie supporter to take that route).

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAH5J8yxs5jS2oesS0hKAXHedD6um9aQ3159g3-Udj44%3DySsShw%40mail.gmail.com.
--
Sent from Gmail Mobile

Kevin M.

unread,
May 20, 2020, 9:53:00 PM5/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Joe Rogan molests collies... exclusively on Spotify 

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Steve Timko

unread,
May 20, 2020, 10:05:48 PM5/20/20
to TV or Not TV
On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 6:39 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who would in any way utter a sentence to the effect that they enjoy anything having to do with Joe Rogan.

Rogan has fought MMA (not as a professional) for more than 20 years in addition to being a commentator. The MMA discussions can be pretty good, especially since he gets top MMA fighters on there. When COVID-19 started spreading, he had an excellent expert who cut through a lot of the BS and gave a detailed description of the situation. That was definitely a non-Trump moment.

Joe Hass

unread,
May 22, 2020, 11:12:43 PM5/22/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
If you want an excellent description of Rogan, you'll do worse than this profile by Devin Gordon for The Atlantic.


Here's the money quote:

"Joe likes Jack (Dorsey). He likes Milo Yiannopoulos. He likes Alex Jones. He wants you to know that he doesn’t agree with much of what they say, but he also wants you to know that off camera they’re the nicest guys. If we all have fatal flaws, this is Joe’s: his insistence on seeing value in people even when he shouldn’t, even when they’ve forfeited any right to it, even when the harm outweighs the good. It comes from a generous place, but it amounts to careless cruelty. He just won’t write people off, and then he compounds the sin by throwing them a lifeline at the moment when they least deserve it."

This is where Rogan goes off the rails for me. I get that, as Steve notes, he frequently has smart people on his program who say smart things. But he also has fundamentally horrible people on his show just often enough that it resets the counter to zero.

The name that oddly comes to mind is Pat Buchanan. I affectionately nicknamed him "Sixty-Second Pat" because whenever I'd stumble upon him when I was watching TV news, I could seemingly count on him for roughly 60 seconds of logical, thoughtful-though-conservative conversation. But almost on cue, when the 61st second came around, he'd say something out of right field that reminded me "Oh, yeah: he's an (expletive)." and I'd move on quickly.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAH5J8yzcdc_9%3D-yCR_wV_fh%2BnLy4Wja9wjF12PC0DdSo7VHS9Q%40mail.gmail.com.

Kevin M.

unread,
May 22, 2020, 11:23:51 PM5/22/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
On Fri, May 22, 2020 at 8:12 PM Joe Hass <hassg...@gmail.com> wrote:
If you want an excellent description of Rogan, you'll do worse than this profile by Devin Gordon for The Atlantic.


Here's the money quote:

"Joe likes Jack (Dorsey). He likes Milo Yiannopoulos. He likes Alex Jones. He wants you to know that he doesn’t agree with much of what they say, but he also wants you to know that off camera they’re the nicest guys. If we all have fatal flaws, this is Joe’s: his insistence on seeing value in people even when he shouldn’t, even when they’ve forfeited any right to it, even when the harm outweighs the good. It comes from a generous place, but it amounts to careless cruelty. He just won’t write people off, and then he compounds the sin by throwing them a lifeline at the moment when they least deserve it."

I feel much the same way about Penn Jillette. The late Tom Heald and I used to bond over Penn’s old FreeFM radio show. We’d swap recordings of it. And his magic and comedy are both undeniably great. But he sees all opinions as equally valid... won’t be critical of even the most ill-informed moron. And I just lost the taste for it 


This is where Rogan goes off the rails for me. I get that, as Steve notes, he frequently has smart people on his program who say smart things. But he also has fundamentally horrible people on his show just often enough that it resets the counter to zero.

The name that oddly comes to mind is Pat Buchanan. I affectionately nicknamed him "Sixty-Second Pat" because whenever I'd stumble upon him when I was watching TV news, I could seemingly count on him for roughly 60 seconds of logical, thoughtful-though-conservative conversation. But almost on cue, when the 61st second came around, he'd say something out of right field that reminded me "Oh, yeah: he's an (expletive)." and I'd move on quickly.

On Wed, May 20, 2020, 21:05 Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:


On Wed, May 20, 2020 at 6:39 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who would in any way utter a sentence to the effect that they enjoy anything having to do with Joe Rogan.

Rogan has fought MMA (not as a professional) for more than 20 years in addition to being a commentator. The MMA discussions can be pretty good, especially since he gets top MMA fighters on there. When COVID-19 started spreading, he had an excellent expert who cut through a lot of the BS and gave a detailed description of the situation. That was definitely a non-Trump moment.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAH5J8yzcdc_9%3D-yCR_wV_fh%2BnLy4Wja9wjF12PC0DdSo7VHS9Q%40mail.gmail.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

PGage

unread,
May 22, 2020, 11:57:14 PM5/22/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I see the similarity Kevin, but I think Penn is several octaves higher than either Pat Buchanan or Joe Rogan. 

BTW I took my son to see Penn and Teller last year and we had up such a great time at their show. Like about a third of the audience at one time or another I got called on stage to be a prop, and got to talk to him a little then and after the show (they are available to shake hands and chat). Well worth the cost of the tickets

David Bruggeman

unread,
May 23, 2020, 3:32:06 AM5/23/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Ugh.  I got so mad at how much Penn and his producer embraced free-market libertarian notions on that show that I actually emailed them about it.  That I expected them to be more engaged over email than on the radio was such a boneheaded notion on my part...

David

Steve Timko

unread,
May 23, 2020, 1:02:55 PM5/23/20
to TV or Not TV
I"m a Penn Jillette fan. His Libertarian views can be extreme. He had some tweets against public education. I pointed out how much Britain improved its society after the Tudors implemented more widespread education, but he didn't respond.

He seems to have mellowed his Libertarian views in the last five years or so.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/1387655205.2513740.1590219121388%40mail.yahoo.com.

Greg Diener

unread,
May 24, 2020, 9:52:25 PM5/24/20
to TVorNotTV


On Friday, May 22, 2020 at 11:12:43 PM UTC-4, Joe Hass wrote:
If you want an excellent description of Rogan, you'll do worse than this profile by Devin Gordon for The Atlantic.


Here's the money quote:

"Joe likes Jack (Dorsey). He likes Milo Yiannopoulos. He likes Alex Jones. He wants you to know that he doesn’t agree with much of what they say, but he also wants you to know that off camera they’re the nicest guys. If we all have fatal flaws, this is Joe’s: his insistence on seeing value in people even when he shouldn’t, even when they’ve forfeited any right to it, even when the harm outweighs the good. It comes from a generous place, but it amounts to careless cruelty. He just won’t write people off, and then he compounds the sin by throwing them a lifeline at the moment when they least deserve it."

This is where Rogan goes off the rails for me. I get that, as Steve notes, he frequently has smart people on his program who say smart things. But he also has fundamentally horrible people on his show just often enough that it resets the counter to zero.


Anybody who sees value in what an idiot like Jack Dorsey has to say should not be taken seriously by anybody. 

Greg

Steve Timko

unread,
May 25, 2020, 8:54:57 PM5/25/20
to TV or Not TV
This discussion with Kebin Heart about Dave Chappelle is an example of something Rogan gets right. It was posted today.


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/84d786c0-7c7e-4b23-af1c-909498e1a2fe%40googlegroups.com.

Steve Timko

unread,
May 26, 2020, 1:13:24 AM5/26/20
to TV or Not TV
Hart. Damn autocorrect.

Kevin M.

unread,
May 26, 2020, 1:46:52 AM5/26/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com


On Mon, May 25, 2020 at 10:13 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hart. Damn autocorrect.

Kebin?

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Steve Timko

unread,
May 28, 2020, 9:57:44 PM5/28/20
to TV or Not TV
And this is an example of great MMA discussion between Rogan and one of the top UFC fighters, who just put down a killer.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4DCf1-h0mf8saNtweyEDyiGP-54fCUybdmWn5kZnjrCLA%40mail.gmail.com.

Kevin M.

unread,
May 28, 2020, 10:29:47 PM5/28/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
No matter how hard you try, I’m still not going to date Joe Rogan 

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Tom Wolper

unread,
Jun 1, 2020, 10:21:57 AM6/1/20
to TV or not TV
On Thu, May 28, 2020 at 10:29 PM Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:
No matter how hard you try, I’m still not going to date Joe Rogan.

I don't get why Spotify is making this deal because they aren't content originators and, unlike Stern and SiriusXM, I don't see how it will sell subscriptions. Still, in a world where NBC signed Megyn Kelly for $65 million with all of her baggage, this may not be such a shocking deal.

in learning about antiracism, one of the more difficult concepts to describe to a mass audience is white privilege. The talk here about Rogan is a clear example of it: Rogan will use language that harms people or will have guests on whose intentions are to harm people and he will claim innocence of bad intentions because he and the vast majority of his audience are not the ones that will be harmed.

Adam Bowie

unread,
Jun 2, 2020, 10:21:02 AM6/2/20
to tvornottv
On Mon, Jun 1, 2020 at 3:21 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:

I don't get why Spotify is making this deal because they aren't content originators and, unlike Stern and SiriusXM, I don't see how it will sell subscriptions. Still, in a world where NBC signed Megyn Kelly for $65 million with all of her baggage, this may not be such a shocking deal.


I think there's a two-part reason for this.

Firstly, and most straightforwardly, Spotify gets a massive new audience. For reasons that escape me (although that Atlantic article gives a good explanation), millions listen. I assume a decent number of people will continue to listen on the Spotify app even if they don't subscribe. From my understanding Spotify isn't putting this behind a paywall, just forcing you to use the app. But even if they don't get any new subscriptions at all, Spotify can better monetise that audience than many others because they have so much data on their users. They know your demographics (you tell them when you sign up); they know when, where and how much people are listening; they know all kinds of things that *regular* podcast platforms don't know - podcast data is notoriously limited without all the tracking data that most digital advertisers have on you. So Spotify can offer more details to advertisers and more efficiently sell the podcast. Reports seem to suggest that what Rogan gets paid will depend on hitting targets. So on a purely commercial level, this may make sense for Spotify for those reasons alone.

But Spotify is also taking on the podcast industry. Their second motive is to become closer to the default podcast platform. That helps their overall business model - if you're listening to "free" podcasts, you're not listening to "expensive" music. Somewhere around 60-65% of podcast listening is currently via Apple podcasts despite Apple having 50% market share of phones in the US, and less across the rest of the world. Spotify wants in on that, and unlike Apple who hasn't been active in an area they dominate, Spotify is spending a lot becoming a very solid #2. Exclusives become a differentiator for them.

I'm not a massive fan of this direction. If your podcast is not in my podcast app of choice (Pocket Casts since you asked), I'm significantly less likely to hear it. But I can understand the business logic of it from Spotify's perspective. Up until now, I don't think that there have been as many killer podcasts as podcasts businesses need. Many podcasts are "replaceable." We've seen Luminary try this, with their exclusive range of podcasts, but reports suggest that they're hemorrhaging money. In part this is because you can probably find a sufficiently good replacement for any podcast that moved behind the paywall, or otherwise never heard their exclusives anyway. Serial might be an example of a killer podcast. Or maybe The Daily. Something people would change behaviours to still get access to. Even then, I'm not sure that the NYT would put The Daily behind a subscription paywall when it's: a) profitable right now with their listening figures, and b) acts a massive promotional tool to drive those NYT subscriptions. They spread that messaging every single episode!

Today there are more than 1,000,000 podcast series on iTunes.  If my favourite tech podcast moved behind a paywall, I might be a bit bummed, but I could probably find a suitable replacement. Spotify is gambling that Rogan's fans will follow him and there aren't a bunch of others like him - or at least as "good" as what he does. It might work for him and Spotify. But who else would it work for? I'm not sure. 

Disclaimer: I've never listened to him. I can't say that three podcasts by *anyone* appeal to me. I only recently found out that he was the presenter of Fear Factor which we did get in the UK. But I always found him the most obnoxious thing on that, and that's saying something. Oh, and any podcast that ever had or has Alex Jones on it, for any reason whatsoever, is not a podcast I'm ever going to listen to.



Adam

Steve Timko

unread,
Jun 13, 2020, 3:15:41 AM6/13/20
to TV or Not TV
This was a lively talk with Bill Burr about the entertainment business and Hollywood accounting.


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAD_sJGDqcJPunqwBSr5CFENT6Gbmuf-60QHMHAkAwr3FOzF1_Q%40mail.gmail.com.

Kevin M.

unread,
Jun 19, 2020, 7:44:14 PM6/19/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Steve Timko

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 12:35:58 PM6/20/20
to TV or Not TV

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4A9Pkfa7%3DQ%3DBzJdcmgLiHrYQu3y%2BbcvnXaiuwn1maHxUw%40mail.gmail.com.

PGage

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 2:10:22 PM6/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I’m not complaining, as I welcome a full range of views and interests on this list, but just saying: the energy it has taken me to notice and scroll past the last few Joe Rogan posts is more energy than I have spent over the last ten years on anything to do with him, and more than he is worth.

Kevin M.

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 2:16:56 PM6/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 11:10 AM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
I’m not complaining, as I welcome a full range of views and interests on this list, but just saying: the energy it has taken me to notice and scroll past the last few Joe Rogan posts is more energy than I have spent over the last ten years on anything to do with him, and more than he is worth.

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Tom Wolper

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 4:12:01 PM6/20/20
to TV or not TV
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 2:10 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
I’m not complaining, as I welcome a full range of views and interests on this list, but just saying: the energy it has taken me to notice and scroll past the last few Joe Rogan posts is more energy than I have spent over the last ten years on anything to do with him, and more than he is worth.

The thing is that his audience numbers build his influence and that will drive the media and advertising businesses to make him more mainstream. His audience size right now, before getting a push from Spotify, is probably bigger than any figure on network TV. Even as increased influence brings increased scrutiny, hitting the big time did not bring down Dice Clay or Howard Stern and it likely will not hurt Rogan.

Kevin M.

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 4:51:34 PM6/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Couldn’t the argument be made that by going exclusively to Spotify, he will shrink his audience, just as Stern’s audience shrunk when he left terrestrial radio? 

I don’t think this clip is enough to hurt Rogan, but his proclivity towards hosting and inviting that sort of conversation might not be the sort of attention Spotify wants... especially if by some miracle Trump loses in November, causing the MAGA cult to retreat into hiding again 


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

PGage

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 5:31:39 PM6/20/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Oh man, I don’t think Rogan is anywhere near the level of Clay (a character) or Stern (an actual broadcaster). Rogan doesn’t just tell offensive jokes, he enables hateful and dangerous monsters

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.

Steve Timko

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 5:58:39 PM6/20/20
to TV or Not TV
Does Spotify have advertisers? Rogan might feel his first pressure, despite Spotify giving him assurances they don't want to change the show.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYKWLtwfQWQouPz7A8vm4brER%2BYXKe0ASzaHcxrKbCLZ0A%40mail.gmail.com.

Tom Wolper

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 6:22:43 PM6/20/20
to TV or not TV
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 5:58 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
Does Spotify have advertisers? Rogan might feel his first pressure, despite Spotify giving him assurances they don't want to change the show.

Spotify's free plan has ads. If Rogan drives up paid subscriptions enough Spotify might just make his show ad free to get out from under the pressure.

On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 2:31 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
Oh man, I don’t think Rogan is anywhere near the level of Clay (a character) or Stern (an actual broadcaster). Rogan doesn’t just tell offensive jokes, he enables hateful and dangerous monsters

Mainstream media and culture have gotten amoral enough to put audience size above ethical considerations. When, in the Ailes years, Fox News was called out on their bias, their response was that their ratings were higher than the other news channels. Anybody can build Rogan by quoting him from his show or by using clips on social media and they'll justify it by his podcast audience size.-

Adam Bowie

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 6:25:23 PM6/20/20
to tvornottv
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 10:58 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
Does Spotify have advertisers? Rogan might feel his first pressure, despite Spotify giving him assurances they don't want to change the show.

Yes - Spotify has advertisers. And that's especially the case on their podcasts, where even Spotify paid subscribers continue to hear advertising on Spotify's exclusive podcasts.

To my mind, the Spotify/Rogan deal was about both getting people to use Spotify to listen to podcasts, and giving Spotify potentially the biggest podcast in the US (world?) to sell advertising against. So while this isn't 100% about advertising, you can bet that the reported $100m is based on advertising targets being met too. 

Tom Wolper

unread,
Jun 20, 2020, 6:29:52 PM6/20/20
to TV or not TV
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 4:51 PM Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

Couldn’t the argument be made that by going exclusively to Spotify, he will shrink his audience, just as Stern’s audience shrunk when he left terrestrial radio? 

I don’t think this clip is enough to hurt Rogan, but his proclivity towards hosting and inviting that sort of conversation might not be the sort of attention Spotify wants... especially if by some miracle Trump loses in November, causing the MAGA cult to retreat into hiding again

Stern went behind a paywall and SiriusXM zealously kept clips from being shared. This strategy was developed before social media took over and though it worked for Stern it's probably not doable in the future. Spotify has free accounts so Rogan listeners can just download a free app to hear his show.

If Trump loses in November MAGA doesn't go into retreat. It forms the backbone of the opposition. The Republican faction that will fade into oblivion is the Republican moderates.

Joe Hass

unread,
Jun 21, 2020, 2:54:28 PM6/21/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020, 17:29 Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
If Trump loses in November MAGA doesn't go into retreat. It forms the backbone of the opposition. The Republican faction that will fade into oblivion is the Republican moderates.

There are technically eight scenarios. Let's agree that the four where the GOP takes the House back are not fundamentally realistic.

In increasing order of likelihood according to predictit.org

Trump wins, Republicans maintain the Senate (17%): Four more years of this.
Biden wins, Republicans maintain the Senate (24%): What Tom said.
Trump wins, Democrats get the Senate (25%): Everything grinds to a halt for four years.
Biden wins, Democrats get the Senate (34%): I honestly don't know what happens to the Republican party. It's one thing to lose the White House. It's quite another to lose the White House *and* both houses of Congress in back-to-back elections.

Bob Jersey

unread,
Jun 21, 2020, 4:55:59 PM6/21/20
to TVorNotTV

Steve Timko, May 20th:
I enjoy many of Joe Rogan's podcasts, which I watch on YouTube. Especially when he and guests talk about MMA. 
He gives voice to wild conspiracy theories sometimes without challenging them. He supported Bernie Sanders, then announced he would not support Biden and would vote for Trump, leading me to suspect he was supporting Trump the whole time. He considers Alex Jones a friend.
However, he just signed a deal to put his podcast on Spotify that's supposed to be worth more than $100 million.
 
Like I said, I usually catch his YouTube videos, and those will be gone by the end of the year. I doubt I will be following him much longer.

This is certainly a benchmark in the march from traditional network and cable television networks to the New World Order.

On Joe's latest 'cast, Steve Schirripa, guesting w/Mike Imperioli, related witnessing a batlle Jim Gandolfini had with Harvey Weinstein, who wanted JG to promote Killing Them Softly on Letterman...


B

PGage

unread,
Jun 21, 2020, 8:07:56 PM6/21/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
In none of these scenarios can I see myself being interested in spending more than zero seconds listening to a Joe Rogan.

I’m surprised they think the Dem Clean Sweep is most likely. And I think it is extremely unlikely the Dems take the Senate and lose the WH.

I expect any outcome that includes Biden winning to result in a real struggle within the GOP, perhaps with C-R Republicans becoming a force again, or perhaps with the emergence of a new C-R party.

I don’t expect the hard core 33% or so of the country explicitly dedicated to the racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia of Trump to become kinder and gentler, so there will continue to be a market for the likes of Rogan. But a Trump loss would make the more pragmatic, less explicitly racisty part of the party look for a way to re-brand themselves.

I’m not exactly optimistic, because I think even now Trump’s channels of winning are not much worse than they were at this point 4 years ago, and things are likely to get better for him as We get closer to November.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.

Tom Wolper

unread,
Jun 22, 2020, 11:04:48 AM6/22/20
to TV or not TV
On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 8:07 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
In none of these scenarios can I see myself being interested in spending more than zero seconds listening to a Joe Rogan.

I’m surprised they think the Dem Clean Sweep is most likely. And I think it is extremely unlikely the Dems take the Senate and lose the WH.

I expect any outcome that includes Biden winning to result in a real struggle within the GOP, perhaps with C-R Republicans becoming a force again, or perhaps with the emergence of a new C-R party.

I don’t expect the hard core 33% or so of the country explicitly dedicated to the racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia of Trump to become kinder and gentler, so there will continue to be a market for the likes of Rogan. But a Trump loss would make the more pragmatic, less explicitly racisty part of the party look for a way to re-brand themselves.

I’m not exactly optimistic, because I think even now Trump’s channels of winning are not much worse than they were at this point 4 years ago, and things are likely to get better for him as We get closer to November.

The point with Rogan isn't whether you listen to him. If his audience gets large enough he enters the mainstream and his voice and ideas echo into mass media conversation. As the mass audience dissolves through fragmentation it takes a much smaller audience to build critical mass.

Rogan isn't a self identified right winger and his show isn't specifically right wing like Rush or the syndicated AM radio talk shows. Rogan identifies as a libertarian and he's open to all viewpoints from his guests. He prefers guests from out of the mainstream and he's had guests from the left as well as from the right. I have had a problem with libertarians going back 40+ years because their ideal society makes sense only from a place of privilege - if you're doing well in life you can do better without the constraints of government. But for people not doing well, even if the reasons are unfair or out of their control, there's no government or public sector to offer any help. And Rogan provides no filter or moral pushback to his guests when they go off the rails or talk in a way that is directly hurtful or even harmful to people.

Throughout the twentieth century the political parties were more geographically divided and ideologically mixed. There were large numbers of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats and they could run the country by hammering out compromises. Going into this century the Republicans became a more coherent top-down party while the Democrats remained a coalition of different movements. The Republicans started to enforce ideological purity by calling moderates RINOs and with the Tea Party movement, bringing zealots into the leadership. Then they turned compromise into a taboo for their party. A post-election analysis of the party showed that they could only grow by attracting immigrants and people of color into the party and the leadership responded by turning against both. They openly say their future is through restricting the franchise by voter suppression. If Trump loses none of these trends reverses in the short term. There is going to have to be grass roots and donor pressure to oust the current leadership and bring in a new generation.

Trump's chances of winning are different from 4 years ago because he has a record and has to campaign in an environment where he has stayed at around 40% popularity. When we get closer to the election the polling gap will narrow because it always does in October.

PGage

unread,
Jun 22, 2020, 1:48:27 PM6/22/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I also have long been critical of libertarians, but that is not my problem with Rogan. I find him to be irresponsible and cavalier towards issues that cause real harm. I can’t imagine anything that would make me want to listen to his podcast, regardless of how interesting the guest. Most guests worth hearing (liberal, conservative, libertarian or whatever) can be heard elsewhere. Again, I have no interest in trying to stop other people from listening to him if they want to.

Trump is the incumbent, that gives him an automatic advantage. It is more of an advantage for him, because he no doubt will try to use his power to improve his chances in irregular and even illegal ways. Four years ago the federal Government was actively trying to fight foreign interference in the US election, this time around it is likely to be welcoming it, if not outright cooperating and soliciting it.

I don’t think Democrats should be doing any victory laps at this early stage, regardless of the polls.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.

Joe Hass

unread,
Jul 2, 2020, 2:53:59 PM7/2/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 7:07 PM PGage <pga...@gmail.com> wrote:
I’m surprised they think the Dem Clean Sweep is most likely. And I think it is extremely unlikely the Dems take the Senate and lose the WH.

Apologies for being late to the reply here: that was based on multiplying the percentages for both races. Both were the favorites at that time. 

Steve Timko

unread,
Jul 26, 2020, 5:20:04 PM7/26/20
to TV or Not TV
Joe Rogan announces he's leaving Los Angeles for Texas, where he has more freedom.

A good chunk of his guests come from the Los Angeles area`. I bet if he does move he sets up a studio where they can talk to him from Los Angeles.



--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CABru7%2Bf%2BqivrMFSpvKCLJLgNKDWq84udV%3D-Em1u3OJS%2BWB0aWw%40mail.gmail.com.

PGage

unread,
Jul 26, 2020, 5:35:51 PM7/26/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I told him to go to hell, I guess he’s on his way...

Kevin M.

unread,
Jul 26, 2020, 6:16:10 PM7/26/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
One less asshole in California is only a drop in the bucket, but on behalf of my state, I’m claiming victory. To the Texans who keep taking the worst of us, we will still enjoy your money when you vacation in California... and you will. 

As I’ve told people elsewhere, California’s taxes are high and the cost of living is high... but it’s totally worth it. 

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Doug Eastick

unread,
Jul 26, 2020, 8:10:06 PM7/26/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Kevin said : I’ve told people elsewhere, California’s taxes are high and the cost of living is high... but it’s totally worth it. 

 Canada too.   Now, if I could only get the Canadian winters to be more like San Diego.

My city (actually "regional public health area" just hit 82 cases of covid this month.. total to date).... So I'm gonna hang here for a while with my asthma and other health issues.





To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4AYpprL3YRWFyUzaM15K7BZ6-DCD7K4mx0BXnV_pFrxuA%40mail.gmail.com.

brad...@dwx.com

unread,
Jul 27, 2020, 12:26:19 AM7/27/20
to tvor...@googlegroups.com

I'll bet it's because of the tax situation. Back in the 1990s I worked for a guy who sold
the company for a huge amount and then moved to Texas. When I asked someone why he sold his
company, his house and left town I was advised that Texas had no income tax. So when
you come into a large amount of money....say a hundred million.....you're probably in a
position to avoid as much income tax as possible.


------- Original Message -------
From : Steve Timko[mailto:steve...@gmail.com]
Sent : 7/26/2020 4:19:50 PM
To : tvor...@googlegroups.com
Cc :
Subject : RE: Re: [TV orNotTV] Joe Rogan signs a $100 million-plus deal with Spotify

Steve Timko

unread,
Jul 27, 2020, 10:59:50 AM7/27/20
to TV or Not TV
Nevada has no income tax and it has the UFC headquarters in Las Vegas.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/50a9a8eebfd74b248c240d22fd96b8a2.bradfordw%40dwx.com.

Steve Timko

unread,
Jan 21, 2021, 6:43:52 PM1/21/21
to TV or Not TV
Rogan isn't doing much to help Spotify. An analyst downgraded Spotify to sell.

PGage

unread,
Jan 21, 2021, 8:38:08 PM1/21/21
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
I am uninterested in Rogan, but I LOVE Spotify. We have a family plan for 5 users (forget how much it costs, but is a bargain assuming all 5 would otherwise pay for premium individual, which is true in our case). 

Is the problem that they can’t pay for the price of Rogan and other podcasts, or that the original model of music streaming is not sustainable? If the latter, I think they could probably raise their prices like 10-25% and still feel worth it to me. I have zero tolerance for listening to ads. 

Kevin M.

unread,
Jan 21, 2021, 11:25:18 PM1/21/21
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
What captured my interest in podcasts, both listening to and producing them, is they don’t cost much to create... mostly the expense is in time, not money. They are truly independent, and that independence has resulted in brilliant conversations and the creative sharing of ideas. When podcasts start charging, or licensing or joining a network, they don’t feel quite the same as indie podcasts, and every podcast I can think of that left the other host-sites and leapt over to Spotify, most notably “Movie Sign with the Mads”, was shuttered within a year of the move.

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Kevin M.

unread,
Jan 22, 2021, 12:01:38 AM1/22/21
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Re: Joe Rogan

Rogan has been hanging out in Austin with Dave Chappelle and Elon Musk. Chappelle just tested positive, as did Musk’s girlfriend. 

--
Kevin M. (RPCV)

Steve Timko

unread,
Jun 12, 2021, 7:52:01 PM6/12/21
to TV or Not TV
Someone hired a skywriter to run a banner over Los Angeles that says Joe Rogan is literally 5 foot 3 and Twitter explodes.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKgmY4B%2BbAFXE1Sd1ibv8Qru%3D4V6O99Qat-7v1VurKNpVGurEg%40mail.gmail.com.

Steve Timko

unread,
Mar 7, 2024, 10:50:38 PMMar 7
to TV or Not TV
A month after he appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast, a man was arrested when a head was found in his freezer.

Kevin M.

unread,
Mar 7, 2024, 10:56:16 PMMar 7
to tvor...@googlegroups.com
Rogan would undoubtedly argue the libertarian perspective that it was the head’s sovereign right to be detached from its body, and frankly you ought to be ashamed of yourself for body-shaming it. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)


Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages