Charlamagne Tha God reacted to Joe Budden’s impending departure from Spotify by criticizing the rapper-turned-podcaster’s negotiation skills. After Budden declared he was leaving the streaming service due to being undervalued, Charlamagne offered his take on the business move during an episode of The Breakfast Club.
“It sounds to me like Joe Budden is a person who knows his worth but doesn’t know how to properly negotiate it,” he said. “‘Cause if you keep doing deals with various corporations and you keep getting trash-ass deals, that’s on you. Things like vacation days, bonuses, all of that has to be negotiated in your contract from the beginning.”
Charlamagne contended The Joe Budden Podcast alone wasn’t comparable in worth to some of the podcasting networks signed by Spotify, noting they brought multiple shows to the streaming service.
“When I heard Joe comparing his show to like Spotify signing Gimlet [Media] for hundreds of millions and The Ringer for hundreds of millions and Parcast for hundreds of millions, I think it’s very important to note that they got that money from Spotify because they are actual networks with tons of IP,” he explained. “Those networks have a bunch of shows and other content, a bunch of staff that knows how to make those shows. You can’t compare your one show to a whole network.”
DJ Envy chimed in and insisted Budden should be paid handsomely for the popular podcast, which Charlamange agreed with despite his criticisms. But the longtime radio personality emphasized his point about Budden’s one show not having the same worth as an entire network.
“I’m not saying he shouldn’t be getting a lot of money,” Charlamagne stated. “What I’m simply saying is you can have the No. 1 show on Spotify, but one of those networks might have six shows in the Top 10, 10 shows in the Top 20. You have one hit show.”
Charlamagne wrapped up his thoughts on Budden’s Spotify departure by recalling the former Slaughterhouse member’s exit from Complex Media.
“If you keep having the same issues at various companies, because it was the same issue at Complex, it’s probably not them,” he declared. “It’s probably you, Joe. So, lesson to all the kids out there: you may know your worth, but you have to know how to properly negotiate it.”
Listen to what Charlamagne had to say up top and revisit Budden’s comments about leaving Spotify below.