Joe Rogan reacts during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Getty
Joe Rogan reacts during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Getty
Joe Rogan reacts during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Getty
Joe Rogan reacts during UFC 249 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 09, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Getty

Soon, you won't find Joe Rogan's podcast on most apps, and it won't be on YouTube either

The king of the longform chat podcast is moving all his content exclusively to Spotify, which means much of the world won't be able to listen to it

Nyree McFarlane

May 20, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Joe Rogan has one of the world's most popular podcasts: it's estimated that about 200 million people tune in to the Joe Rogan Experience every month (listening across podcast platforms and watching on YouTube).

But "somewhere around the end of this year" you won't be able to find any of the new episodes of the "experience" on Apple, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts or YouTube, because Rogan has signed an exclusive deal with Spotify. The podcast will debut on Spotify on Tuesday, September 1, this year, and then be exclusive to it by the end of the year.

"The podcast is moving to Spotify," Rogan announced in a video on the digital music service's website. "I signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify."

The streaming site has 286m active users, meaning Rogan's one show draws in almost as many people as the entire app.

"It will be the exact same show. I will not be an employee of Spotify, we will be working with the exact same crew," he said in the announcement, adding that "nothing else will change".

What about people who can't get Spotify?

However, things will change for those living in countries in which Spotify is not available. Spotify has 79 countries listed on its website as the territories it serves, meaning 116 countries will not be able to listen to new episodes of the Joe Rogan Experience once it moves exclusively to Spotify.

Particularly striking is the fact Spotify only services five African countries, a continent home to 54.

While Spotify and Rogan didn't disclose the financial details of the deal, a source told The Wall Street Journal that the deal is worth $100m (Dh367m).

On YouTube, Rogan has 8.42m subscribers. Snippets from episodes will still be uploaded on to the video-streaming service, but the full shows will only be on Spotify.

In the podcasting world, Rogan definitely had early mover advantage, having launched his podcast in 2009. His often three-hour-long chats with one person are a stark contrast to the 90-second-Instagram-video media pace that many thought was the way forward after the explosion of the smartphone over the past decade.

His success proves that people will sit back and listen for a while.

While the show regularly hosts UFC experts and comedians, Rogan also interviews world leaders, health experts and scientists, too.

His guests in the past have included Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, Lance Armstrong and Billy Corgan. He also regularly hosts experts such as Dr Rhonda Patrick, a science academic and mitochondrial expert.

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While you're here

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

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On Women's Day
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Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800

Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm

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Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.

In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)

Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.

 

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England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)

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About Seez

Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017  

Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed

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