Throughout 2020, users watched as Spotify continued to grow their seemingly never-ending roster of exclusive podcasts. Signing on names like Joe Rogan, Bill Simmons, and Brene Brown to name a few. And as we enter the summer of 2021, Spotify is showing no signs of slowing down. 

On June 15th, Spotify signed an exclusivity deal with the infamous podcast, Call Her Daddy, starting July 21st, 2021. The podcast covers an array of topics around sexual positivity, vulnerable experiences, self care, and trauma. Over the years, the show has evolved along with the host, Alex Cooper. The podcast originally started with Cooper and her co-host, Sofia Franklyn, but after a public disagreement between the two and Barstool Sports president, Dave Portnoy, Franklyn ended up leaving the show. The dispute was over contract terms which resulted in the claim that the two host’s had a base salary of $500,000. Cooper eventually ended up signing a deal, whereas Franklyn did not. In 2020, Franklyn ended up launching her own podcast, “Sofia With an F.” 

“From its start three years ago, the show has always been about challenging the status quo and manifesting conversations that previously only happened behind closed doors. I can’t wait for this next chapter with Spotify, where I will continue raising the bar with great content and guests for the Daddy Gang.” says Cooper in Spotify’s newsroom. 

In Spotify’s 2020 Wrapped campaign, Call Her Daddy proved to be the fifth most popular podcast streamed globally on the platform, making it no surprise that the audio company set their sights on the show entering 2021. Later on June 15th, Variety released that the agreement between Cooper and Spotify is worth more than $60 million, making it the largest exclusive deal Spotify has made with a female-led podcast thus far (although, we’ll see what’s to come). 

This exclusive deal comes just one month after Spotify announced the acquisition of Dax Shepard's podcast, Armchair Expert. Similar to the deal with Armchair Expert, Call Her Daddy will be a Spotify exclusive for the next three years. 

So this begs the question - is this an effective tactic for Spotify? Can the audio giant continue to take on exclusive shows with the biggest names in the industry without angering non-Spotify users? It’s still undetermined, but what we will say is that podcasters might want to think about the success of their show in the long-term.