Value exists on both sides of the equation. Spotify wants people on their platform and will pay handsomly for an exclusive deal. Joe instantly gets prominent placement inside every Spotify installation on the earth, rock solid distribution and a partner to help market his content.
He has rock solid distribution between YT and RSS. Anyone who has heard of podcasts has heard of JRE, it doesn’t need marketing. Joe’s reach is going to take a big hit from exclusivity.
Spotify is clearly paying him enough that none of this matters. It’s the correct trade to make if he thinks JRE has passed peak growth and it’s time to focus on monetization.
