Latest news with #JoeBudden
The Verge
an hour ago
- Business
- The Verge
And Patreon's top earner is...
And Patreon's top earner is... After inadvertently revealing his earnings on social media in June, podcaster Joe Budden told The New York Times that his network is on pace to earn $12 million this year in Patreon subscriptions alone. With other revenue streams, that number swells to more than $20 million. The Times piece is a rare look into the finances of big-name content creators — usually they're cagey about money.
Entrepreneur
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Entrepreneur
Inside Joe Budden's $20 Million Podcast Network
A New York Times profile of former rap star Joe Budden breaks down the eye-popping figures he's pulling in by connecting with his vast audience's ears. Budden gained acclaim with his 2003 hit "Pump It Up," and went on to become a TV and media personality. Now dubbed "Howard Stern of hip-hop," Budden has amassed millions of listeners to his Joe Budden Network and self-titled show. The show mostly involves Budden and his friends opining on the latest pop culture news. Related: Guy Fieri Teaches His Team This Customer Service Secret — And It Can Unlock Unexpected Success For Your Business Too Budden and his network's Chief Executive, Ian Schwartzman, shared some of the incredible numbers behind their endeavor with The Times, stating that they "want to make a broader argument for maintaining independence as creators." They spent two years being available exclusively on Spotify, but otherwise are unattached to any media companies. Here's a look at the numbers: The Joe Budden Network averages $1.04 million per month on Patreon thanks to its 70,000 paid subscribers. Subscribers can choose tiers that range from $5 to $50 per month. The more expensive tiers come with extras like bonus episodes. Two free episodes are available each week to unpaid listeners. 2025 subscription revenue is expected to be more than $12 million. Advertising (all conducted through their own in-house department) makes up a significant part of the company's revenue. The Joe Budden Network employs more than 30 independent contractors. While Budden and Schwartzman say it might seem like a "flex" to be so open about their finances, they are trying to inform up-and-comers who might have their eyes set on a big network deal like Joe Rogan has. "[It's] uncomfortable to put any money situation out there for the public and competitors to see," Schwartzman told the Times, but added, "How else will they know they can do it this way?" Related: 'I Lost My Mind': Erin Andrews Explains What It's Like to Be in the Middle of the Taylor Swift Effect
New York Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
How Does This Podcast Star Make $20 Million a Year?
The podcaster Joe Budden, an ex-rapper who has been called the 'Howard Stern of hip-hop,' wanted to flex a little. He accidentally over-flexed. Last month, he posted a screenshot of his traffic from Patreon, a subscription service that allows fans to pay creators directly through monthly contributions. It showed more than 30 million visits in 30 days. Revenue figures on the Patreon data had been scribbled over. But sleuths manipulated the image, and to them, it appeared that he had earned more than $900,000 — a number that made headlines. Yet that was just his earnings from the month of June. Overall, the Joe Budden Network is on a pace to generate more than $20 million this year, according to its chief executive, Ian Schwartzman. Mr. Budden agreed to share those and other details about his podcast business with The New York Times, offering a rare window into the economics of podcasting. Publishers of shows rarely share details of their revenue, or even their download or streaming figures. They want to maintain a competitive edge in the advertising marketplace and, like many private businesses, simply aren't keen to open their books. Mr. Budden's reason for releasing figures now, he said in an interview, goes beyond flexing; he and Mr. Schwartzman want to make a broader argument for maintaining independence as creators. They have been podcasting for a decade; although they spent two years working exclusively with Spotify, they are not affiliated with any outside podcast network or media company today. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drake's Latest Shirtless Selfie Is Going Viral For All The Wrong Reasons, So Here's An Explainer On The Speculation Around His 'Fake Abs'
If you've kept up with Drake over the years, you might be aware of a long-running rumor that he underwent cosmetic surgery to get a 6-pack. Back in 2016, media personality and ex-rapper Joe Budden famously claimed that Drake privately 'saw Dr. Miami' — a renowned plastic surgeon who famously works with celebrity clients. In response to someone who asked why he'd fired shots at Drake's 'sculpted stomach,' Joe claimed, 'Cuz he saw Dr. Miami & didn't tell y'all…. HipHop weird now lol.' Twitter: @JoeBudden Related: A couple of years later, rapper Pusha T seemingly echoed this sentiment on his infamous Drake diss track 'The Story of Adidon,' which included the lyrics, 'Surgical summer with it, snip, snip, snip.' In 2019, Drake hit back at a comment from DJ Carnage — with whom he was close friends — that mentioned his alleged plastic surgery. Carnage wrote, 'You got fake ab surgery in Colombia. You ain't fooling anybody,' to which Drake replied, 'Is this cause you are angry about the one thing that happened with that one person the other day that you thought was your wifey?' Fast forward to just last year, and the speculation around Drake's abs reached new heights after Kendrick Lamar released a very pointed lyric on his scathing track 'euphoria' amid their memorable feud. He rapped, 'Let your core audience stomach that, then tell 'em where you get your abs from.' Related: On 'Meet The Grahams,' which is another diss track targeted towards Drake, Kendrick claimed: 'You lied about your surgery.' Fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion also appeared to fuel the speculation on her 2024 track 'HISS.' She rapped, 'All these lil' rap n*ggas so fraud … These n*ggas hate on BBLs and be walkin' 'round with the same scars,' which some fans interpreted as a diss towards Drake, who rapped in 2022: 'This bitch lie 'bout gettin' shots, but she still a stallion.' Several people guessed that Drake was accusing Megan of lying about being shot by Tory Lanez, which you can read more about here, though some questioned if he was also accusing her of lying about getting cosmetic injections. It's worth highlighting that amid all the rumors, there is no proof that Drake has undergone cosmetic surgery. But with that in mind, a recent shirtless selfie from the rapper has fueled speculation that his abs are 'fake.' Related: On Sunday, Drake shared this selfie as part of an Instagram carousel: And the comments didn't hold back. 'Ordered abs from temu n forgot to add shoulders n tri lol,' read one comment with over 18,000 likes. Another said, 'No shoulders, no biceps, deflated chest but extremely defined abs lmao.' 'The belly button is a dead giveaway,' someone suggested. Related: Meanwhile, users of Reddit were equally perplexed. 'The level of definition in his abs makes absolutely no sense with the rest of his body,' one person wrote. Another quipped, 'It's giving 'novelty apron.'' 'Kendrick Lamar will be writing a new track after seeing this pic,' someone said. Well then! Let me know what you think down below. More on this Drake Is Facing Serious Backlash After He Rapped That Megan Thee Stallion Lied About Being Shot And She's Being Praised For Her ResponseStephanie Soteriou · Nov. 4, 2022 Drake And Kendrick Lamar's Rap Beef, ExplainedMychal Thompson · May 5, 2024 'Peak Loser Behavior': People Cannot Wrap Their Heads Around Drake Sharing A Screenshot Of His 'Embarrassing' DM To A Canadian Politician Who Went To A Kendrick Lamar ConcertStephanie Soteriou · June 16, 2025 Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity: Also in Celebrity:
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jennifer Lopez missed out on huge global hit song after rival singer pulled sneaky move to snatch it back
Jennifer Lopez missed out on an iconic, global hit song after her rival pulled a sneaky move. This week, a fellow R&B singer revealed that she leaked her recording of a song just so that their record label, Columbia Records, wouldn't give it to JLo, who was a bigger artist at the time. Over two decades ago, newcomer Amerie, 45, was bursting onto the scene in the competitive music industry, then-dominated by Lopez — whom the former said the record label considered an established, 'pinnacle artist.' Reflecting on that time, on the 20-year anniversary of the famous song, Amerie talked about how she leaked her global hit, 1 Thing, so that it wouldn't become Lopez's. '1 Thing came out in 2004 because I leaked it over Christmas,' she recalled while making an appearance on Joe Budden 's eponymous podcast this week. 'Because everybody would be on break so they can't stop anything. 'So I was like, "I'm gonna be out here. I'm gonna drop a match",' she confessed. 'For me I was like, "Look, I might get dropped, so I just want people to hear the music.'" Amerie explained: 'I don't really care about getting paid for it. I just want people to hear it because I believe in it.' She again recalled how she waited until the record label execs were all on holiday to pull her sneaky stunt. 'And they're on Christmas break, so we can just do it,' she said. 'At the time, they were trying to give the record to somebody else. They were trying to do that but they couldn't,' she said before explaining that she had some rights to the song since she was a writer listed on the track. 'You can't just take it, and that was frustrating for them, I guess.' She claimed that the record label did not 'totally understand' the hit song they had on their hands and wanted to release the track under a more well-known artist at the time, so she decided to take action herself. Shortly afterwards, producer Rich Harrison helped Lopez, now 55, record and release Get Right, a track with a similar sound and nearly identical elements. She also ended the ongoing rumor that Beyoncé's song, Crazy In Love, was supposed to be her record first as she claimed she never even heard the track before Beyoncé got it. She denied that the up-tempo track was crafted for her as she explained the producer, Harrison, did not play it for her before he did for Beyoncé. 'I didn't hear anything about it, but a lot of people would be like, "Wait, that's not your record? Why didn't he give that record to you?" And I'm like, he never, he never played that record for me,' she told Revolt TV in an interview published on Saturday. Beyoncé's solo debut project, Dangerously In Love, was a major success upon its release in June 2003, which was two years before 1 Thing was leaked and ever played on the radio. About the comparison between the similar sounds, Amerie explained that it was because she and Harrison 'created a sound together.' 'After the first video came out, it made a lot of noise, and people, like, really love that album... But during that, he's also a producer that's coming up, so now he has all these people coming to him for records, you know what I mean? 'And we did create a sound together,' she added. She added: 'There were so many artists who were trying to work with him, so you know, he's going to work with different artists. He's going to have different songs... 'He's gonna want to play some songs for me as his artist, right? But he's going to want to play some songs elsewhere because he's trying to grow and make his name as a producer.' Her admission comes just weeks after she dropped music for the first time in seven years. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter released her new solo single Mine in March, just ahead of her highly anticipated, sixth studio album's release set for sometime in 2025.
