Joe Budden’s The Joe Budden Podcast has become one of Hip-Hop’s favorite podcasts over the years. Alongside his co-hosts Mal and Rory (who Akademiks recently had some choice words for), Budden has created a beloved platform that tackles everything from album and song reviews to deep dives on topics near and dear to the culture.
Thus, it was surprising to see that The Joe Budden Podcast and Spotify were officially parting ways last year due to underlying frustrations and a bubbling beef over the show’s value. Budden subsequently announced that he and his circle would be expanding what they built with their podcast into a syndicate of culture-driven programming, aptly titled The Joe Budden Network.
Now, The Joe Budden Network has an intriguing new home: subscription-based artist platform Patreon. This move gives more control to the creators of The Joe Budden Network, as they will be able to interact directly with fans through exclusive access to premium content such as bonus podcast episodes, brand new content franchises, and more. The partnership will also find Budden taking on the role of Patreon’s Head of Creator Equity in order to fight for content creators and push for change in the industry.
In a statement regarding the new partnership, Budden stated, “I’ve seen firsthand that exploitation is everywhere in this industry – it’s become the status quo, and I’m tired of it. I’m tired of constantly fighting for independence and I’m tired of proving my value over and over again. This partnership with Patreon marks a new era for the creative economy: one where independence comes first and creators get paid – something that shouldn’t be revolutionary. Creators should get the biggest stake in their art and the system isn’t ready to do that, so we’re going to change the system. This is the new blueprint and we are the first.”
The first exclusive podcast from Budden, Rory, and Mal is set to arrive on Patreon on February 8, so if you want to see if Budden has any more words for Ak, then you should probably subscribe.