Joe Budden & The Breakfast Club - The Future of Podcasts Is No Longer Free

Añadido: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Yo, can we have a convo about every time a person starts succeeding in doing something good? How people start to turn on them and say, "Oh, because you want me to pay now.

[00:00:10]I ain't about to do that." Before we get started though, you know what I need?

[00:00:13]Subs, likes, and hypes. All right, bet.

[00:00:14]So, listen, we're talking about Joe Budden, you know what I mean, the whole podcast. We're talking about Netflix, talking about The Breakfast Club. Now, most recently, we've seen how people were so bothered about The Breakfast Club transitioning over to Netflix. And what that possibly meant for the average user, right? People dead ass complaining about not being able to watch The Breakfast Club on YouTube because it is just a bit more accessible and because it's free. But, tons of people are subscribers to Netflix. Now, when this happened, I did understand from a certain standpoint the interface, right?

[00:00:46]Like, I think it's such a task for people to turn on The Breakfast Club on Netflix because they've never had to do that before. The only time we've ever turned on Netflix is for a movie, a fight, or any other event that we want to watch. But, now that this platform has transitioned over to another, it's like this big ass task that you're making it seem as if people got to take more money out their pocket in order to watch, and that's not the case. Now, I wanted to talk about the business about podcasting and all of that [ __ ] because a tweet just went up and it comes from the Joe Budden community page, and it says, "Yesterday's pod was paywalled and Joe's considering doing it more often.

[00:01:22]Do you support this decision or do you feel like the two-week pods um should remain free?"

[00:01:28]Somebody responded. They say, "Paywalling the podcast is like The Breakfast Club going to Netflix. The minimal exposure is actually making me forget about the pod. We have to have a serious conversation about consumption.

[00:01:40]Only because people have so much of your information or they know so much information because people give it up because they think that they're celebrating or showing people the game as to how to get [ __ ] going, that they want to start picking it apart and using it against you. See, it's all good when everything's free, but as a person starts to elevate, then things start to come around like ads. Man, how many of y'all is out here right now [ __ ] up? I got something for y'all and it's called Current. I'm actually jacking the app and that's why I partnered up with them.

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[00:02:55]>> For other you get all these different complaints about what you should or what you shouldn't be doing. Never mind that you've watched this person grow and blossom from day one, from a mustard seed, from the idea and to make it into some sort of business. Now, I wanted to go back because Ian, you know what I mean, Joe Budden's partner, he spoke a lot about the business and how they was able to turn, you know, their deal from Spotify and noticing what they had there and the steps that they took learning and all of this in order to make this into a sustainable business. We're not just a media company, we're a data company. I have been collecting the data from every platform that will provide it for us for almost 10 years. I'm not looking at stats or analytics anymore.

[00:03:35]I'm looking at a blueprint. Numbers tell a story. Who's listening? Where they're listening from? What time they're listening? What's the retention rate?

[00:03:43]Somewhere along the lines of 2018 to 2020, I was watching an audience become ritualistically attached to the show in a way where I'm like this is no longer about popularity.

[00:03:56]This is something much bigger. I was watching their their listening and viewing habits and thinking to myself, wait a second. How much money is it possible for us to earn? We weren't under an exclusive licensing deal. My first thought was what if we created our own app and we just had everyone coming directly to us. I thought okay Google like we could set up passive Google AdSense. We could set up a subscription model. I wasn't thinking Patreon at first. But then I started looking at the weekly listenership. How many people were showing up weekly? Let for the sake of this conversation say a million people a week were listening to two episodes. Over 4 million unique listeners a month. I started doing math.

[00:04:34]Let's call it 4 million people times 2%. 4 million people listening a month times 2% of the audience is 80,000 people. What if I can get 80,000 people to pay us a monthly subscription? And then I did the math. And I said times 10 bucks, 800,000 a month. If I can get 80,000 people to move away from Spotify, move away from our free tier and to pay for a direct subscription to exclusive content, not bonus content, that's the lazy way out of Patreon. But to exclusive content, well then I have an $800,000 a month business which far exceeds what we were getting at Spotify.

[00:05:12]A lot of good information even knowing Joe Budden's career. The way everybody jokes about he only had one hit record, he never really achieved nothing and then went from that to making $800,000 a month because he emphasized on his business. Now when we talking about the conversation about putting more episodes behind a paywall, people were like, oh nah, more behind the paywall. You well guess what? That [ __ ] pay for cable every month. Y'all pay for all these other things every month, but as soon as you see a face that's attached to it that you feel like don't really deserve your money because they gave you so much [ __ ] for free, you start talking about what you should and shouldn't do with them.

[00:05:45]Now you got to admit, right? If they've given up all of this free content for so long, why wouldn't it incentivize you to pay a little bit more to be able to be in the game with them? You know what I'm saying? To get what it is you want. Now, this is not all people. This is just one person, but you know that one person that said something that goes viral gets very loud. Now, I also want to talk about Charlamagne.

[00:06:06]Cuz Charlamagne responded to this as well, and he wrote in the comment section, and he said, "Minimal exposure.

[00:06:12]Set your reminders. Breakfast Club starts live daily all around the world on June 1st. We truly thank God for it all."

[00:06:21]What is he talking about? There's a new report, right? And it states, "Netflix launches the first live daily video podcast, Charlamagne the God's Breakfast Club." Charlamagne the God's Breakfast Club, of course, we know that Charlamagne signed the $200 million deal, you know what I'm saying? With Netflix and iHeart, but before we get there, who could forget all the [ __ ] that Tasha K was talking? Um I guess to fill you in on what was said.

[00:06:45]They said, "So, basically, iHeart could not wouldn't allocate funds to them, which means they didn't extend the contract." Now, they have license rights to the audio of the show, which but they have literally given Netflix full control over this entire concept.

[00:07:03]They don't even have control over their concept cuz we told you last week uh well, 2 weeks ago that Jess Hilarious doesn't even have the IP rights to her Jess With The Mess, the thing that got her on. She can't even post that on her Instagram without their permission. She just signed over her little rights per Charlamagne because iHeart, from what I'm being told, okay? By iHeart executives, that they didn't want to pay him. And so, in order to appease him, they said, "Well, iHeart you know, Netflix approached us. You can go over here." And that's why at the end of every video that they got, at the end of every video, they were like, "Go to Netflix. You watch Netflix.

[00:07:42]You always ON NETFLIX. TRY DOWNLOAD NETFLIX NOW. GO AND WATCH THE BREAKFAST CLUB. And it's usually some white woman that got sent down with glasses on that speaking on flowers and [ __ ] that y'all don't know nothing about. But it's The Breakfast Club, remember? Maybe they going to have the Chick-fil-A owner up on there next time. You know, to kind of go away with the brand, but they don't have no rights. And so, um next time y'all want to try to come for my brand, oh you can't say nothing now cuz Netflix don't even allow y'all to comment unless they tell y'all to comment. So, they can't say nothing. Chasman. Ain't no CLOCK BACK IN THAT TASHA K. Ain't no more calling me no crackhead.

[00:08:16]Sweaty, yeah. BUT CRACKHEAD, AIN'T NO more calling that. You can't even call your own show Just Hilarious. You can't even say Just WITH THE MESS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION from your bosses at Haven. No.

[00:08:30]No experience in the podcast industry at all, okay? And I'mma have to go change this dress. This velour is too hot. Now, after she did all of that talking, keep in mind Charlamagne signed a $200 million deal.

[00:08:46]Regardless of how much you may know or think went into his pocket, is irrelevant. $200 million deal means that either he got paid a large lump sum of that money and a lot was allocated in the different places, whether that was building out Black Effect and doing other things and taking that money to start other properties or opportunities or businesses. Well, let's read a little bit into this new announcement that they got going on. It says, "The Breakfast Club, a video podcast hosted by Charlamagne tha God will stream live every weekday on Netflix. Starting June 1st, the podcast will air simultaneously as a live video show on Netflix at 6:00 a.m. and on the radio for close to 3-hour broadcast, which includes interviews and cultural commentary. This is deepening the existing deal between iHeartMedia and Netflix to stream video podcast on the platform." It says, "In the past few months, Netflix has moved more into video podcast via licensing deals with iHeart Media, Spotify, and more. The Bill Simmons Podcast from Spotify and The Ringer also is live each Sunday with episodes showing um showing up on Spotify. What we've got to recognize is that no matter what, you could get [ __ ] a backstage pass into heaven and they would get up there and complain about the brightness.

[00:09:57]That's what society is. A big, big, big ecosystem of people who hang and grab low-hanging fruit and then complain about else they feel like got to work for.

[00:10:09]Netflix has been something that's become a household name and a platform that almost every household uses to the point where [ __ ] had to start changing the rules because too many people were sharing their passwords.

[00:10:22]But keep in mind, I said it before, I'll say it again. The reason why people feel as if it's such a task because they're not used to going to Netflix to watch or listen to The Breakfast Club. But that can change, right?

[00:10:36]Can it? I mean, is it that much of a task for you to take some time out of your day to basically go and watch some [ __ ] that you're already paying a subscription for?

[00:10:49]You already A lot of people don't have YouTube Premium, but they have Netflix.

[00:10:55]And you're already paying a subscription for Netflix, but yet you don't want to interact because it's sitting right next to your favorite show.

[00:11:05]It's too hard to find. You got to write too much and that's all [ __ ] If Joe Budden wants to put more stuff behind a paywall, you're going to have people that agree with that and you're going to have people that hate it.

[00:11:17]That's just the fact of the matter. When it comes to this content game, I will tell you I got lucky.

[00:11:24]I got thrown on the Everyday Struggle.

[00:11:26]And after I got thrown on the Everyday Struggle, I got a deal with Amazon Music. That deal with Amazon Music was extremely lucrative to me. I made a lot of money, but a lot of people did not know that I was doing anything with Amazon music. I also hosted many festivals. I host Camp Flog Gnaw for the past 3 years on Amazon Prime. Yeah, when you going to watch TV on Amazon Prime around November, check out and you'll see me up there.

[00:11:50]You feel me?

[00:11:52]And now I started well not now, but 2 years ago I started my own independent YouTube channel, which I had tons of people tell me it was not going to work.

[00:11:59]I had tons of people coming to my channel every day and telling me how this [ __ ] was not going to work, how it was trash, how it was the worst takes they could possibly hear. But then I also started to realize that people just want to say [ __ ] for the sake of being able to say something. A lot of them may or may not feel that way and the ones who do feel that way do not overpower the [ __ ] that support me. So now we're closing in on 90,000 subs.

[00:12:21]We're going to get to a 100 and almost 20 million views. And even with that being said, I'm still putting my work in. So when I see a person like Joe Budden start putting stuff behind a paywall and knowing his history and knowing all the things that he's accomplished since being in the space, I'm excited for that [ __ ] because it shows me that it's possible for me to do something similar and when the time calls for it. I want to start getting into live shows. I want to start doing more interacting with the audience. But at the same time, you're going to have people that just talk [ __ ] Now DJ Envy was even asked about this at one point in time and this is what he had to say. Going to talk to the host themselves and see what they have to say.

[00:13:01]Envy, what do you say to fans who say they feel betrayed by the move to Netflix? Uh I don't know why they would feel betrayed. I mean, you're still getting the same content and change is great. We're still putting out clips and you can always comment under our Instagram pages. You do the same thing.

[00:13:14]I am not the light skin sugar cookie.

[00:13:15]>> That whole I'm not the light skin sugar cookie is a question I got to ask Envy next time I see him cuz what the [ __ ] is he talking about? But anyway, um also Earn Your Leisure chimed in, you you well about paywall and putting stuff behind paywall and building a business model and this is what they had to say regarding the business aspect of creating content. If your business model revolves solely around revenue that's produced from people watching your show as far as like ad dollars Mhm. that's your mistake. Me steak.

[00:13:50]Now, not to say there's nothing wrong with ad dollars, but that should be ad that should be a added added value.

[00:13:56]Okay, lit litmus test. If you're not able to run your show in a hypothetical scenario that you had zero ad dollars, then you need to rework your business model. So, what a lot of people do is they have a fire they have a paywall.

[00:14:10]Joe Budden obviously has done that at the best as far as his Patreon is concerned, right? Where he has free content, but then he has a Patreon as well, right? And you see that with a lot of shows where there's Horrible Decisions, where there's you know, 85 South with Channel 85, they have the free content, which is used as like a gateway to the paywall knowing that. Yeah. Everybody's not going to go to the paywall, but there'll be enough paid subscribers that it balances out the free content. Mhm. That's one way.

[00:14:38]That's one way.

[00:14:39]Another way is to offer products and services.

[00:14:42]That also can serve as an as another form of a paywall. Mhm. Right? So, I say that all the time as far as if you look at Market Mondays, that's public school.

[00:14:53]And that's that's free for anybody, but if you really want to know when where to buy, right? The prices and the list and all that, well, that's Red Panda.

[00:15:03]Harvard. If you really want to know how to If you really want to know how to trade options, if you really want to know get the financial planning calls and the resources that we have, that's EYL University. Wharton.

[00:15:14]We we offer both both ways, right? It's so much game being given out right now and trust me, everybody's not meant or built for this [ __ ] Everybody's not meant or is going to be able to get up and do this on a everyday basis everyday basis relentlessly. It takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of sacrifice, it takes a lot of time, and it also takes money. But I just want to say this with y'all right quick. Stop complaining.

[00:15:38]Stop complaining, yo. Everybody will be all right. Listen, I hear the I hear I see the comments, "Yo Wayno, I pay for premium. Now I got to see your ads."

[00:15:48]Listen, there was a point in time when I first started this channel, I wasn't making absolutely anything, and I didn't let that stop me.

[00:15:56]I sacrificed and turned away from a lot of different things because I felt like my voice could be more prevalent if I stayed in this space and I kept working.

[00:16:04]So, if you see an ad, [ __ ] it. God damn, man. [ __ ] can't get an ad? I'm just saying, man. Listen.

[00:16:11]If people decide to do things with their business, don't move the goal post.

[00:16:15]Cuz y'all don't do that for everybody else. When you see these black creators, and not just black creators, but independent creators, people who don't have the back end. I was a person that came from Complex. Like I said, I hit the ground running. I went from nobody knowing me, you know what I mean, unless I was a behind-the-scenes music person, and people knew me in my hood, to literally being on one of the biggest platforms that was with Everyday Struggle. And I took that and ran with that. I remember Academics even saluting me at one point in time because man, after 1 or 2 months of me doing that, I was at Rolling Loud, not Rolling Loud, I was at uh Made in America Fest doing, you know, behind-the-scenes interviews and commentary. I took the opportunity and I ran with it, and I just think that when you see people building themselves and building their platforms up, it's only going to do more for the consumer.

[00:17:02]It's only going to give you more to watch. It's only going to give you more to listen to. It's only going to give you more to talk about that you could create content to as well. So, just have a little chill, you know what I mean, have a little chill. But this is how I do it myself. For the ones that rock with me, you know how we doing for the ones that don't, eventually will. I'll catch y'all on the next one. Peace. I'm not putting y'all on for months about this. I don't know why y'all think I'm bugging.

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