Joe Reflects on the Podcast & Moving to Spotify

One thing I will say about Spotify layout though, as a fan, I want to tune into the pod sometimes. I find it hard to watch on my TV, so that sucks. You're working on that. It's eventually going to be on all platforms in terms of television based platforms. Right now it's on Chromecast and it's going to be on Google Play and they're working on Roku and Apple TV. They're working on a bunch of different platforms that will eventually be. But it's not as smooth as it probably should have been when we first transferred over in December, but they just weren't ready for the volume. They had never had a show. First of all, they created video because of the conversation we had about this podcast. They wanted the podcast to be audio only. My manager was like, think about the Elon Musk moment when Elon Musk is smoking weed. That is a viral moment that only happens with video. Where Elon's like, it's legal, right? I'm like, yeah, it's totally legal. I saw the painting. I remember I was at the airport and I had sunglasses and a hat and I'm on my way to Vegas and I'm looking at this CNN monitor and it shows Elon smoking weed on my podcast. And I'm like, oh no. What a trip. I was like, what have I done? But those moments, those crazy viral moments, they don't exist without video. And my manager said that to Spotify and Spotify was like, you're right. And then they started working on the video platform. And then, you know, there's been a lot of weirdness, like a lot of, you know, we're talking about like how people get a sense of who a person is without actually communicating with them without being there with them. And you could define someone or, you know, have this like, um, distorted perception of who a person is without actually communicating with them. That's one of the things that happened with Spotify with like some of their staff, where they thought it was transphobic or thought it was a bad, I saw one of their staff say that I was a shockjack shock jock. Like that, I'm not even remotely. Yeah. You're just a dude with a mic. Yeah. I always tell people, cause sometimes I know he's a comic and stuff. So I see you more as a comic than anything. And you didn't intend on this becoming as big as it's become. It's just organically grown and people tune in because they want to tune in. You're not, you're not being force fed down people's throat. They're like choosing to listen to you. Yeah. But when I've actually on purpose, never advertised for this show. I've never asked people to watch it. I've never gone on television shows and promoted it. I've never taken out any billboards or ads. Spotify did some of that stuff when I switched over to them, but I never did any of it. So I used to get so odd when people hold you to the same standards. It's like CNBC or these entities where you just look at a guy with a mic. You know what I mean? Okay. Because it gets much more of an audience than them. That's what freaks them out. When you have these huge multinational corporations that have thousands of employees and they can't even touch the amount of reach that a guy with a podcast has. That's madness for them. I've seen clips of your like first episode or whatever or pictures. It's like absurd. It's absurd. You know, it's been an organic thing. You can see, you can see how it grows. But it's also a lesson to all these other comics too. What's the difference? Well, the difference I grind. I just keep going. The same thing that got you good at comedy. What got you good at comedy? Stage time. What gets you good at podcast? Podcast time. You don't have noticed? Keep doing it. Even just doing my podcast, because especially during the pandemic. What's it called? Dance time? Vihimin or dance hour. Dance hour. Vihimin or dance hour. Just when the pandemic hit, you lean into what is available to you. So stand up wasn't really there. So I doubled down on the podcast. I got like a nicer space to film it in, like a nice studio. And I've been doing it for two years now. And obviously I'm better at it now than I was first three months or whatever. It's a skill. It's a skill. And time is time. And anything that you do. And I've just found it's helped with my stand up even. Because talking is talking. And even though this is conversational, it just wires your brain and you have certain pathways where you are comfortable formulating thought and it's conducive to podcasting. And it also stand up. Yeah. Well, the best example that is Bill Burr. Yes. With his Monday morning podcast. Because he's fucking brilliant. And just him and a microphone. And he's so prolific with the stand up because he's developed that muscle of creation. And also I'm kind of an introvert. Like, I don't really talk a lot. Just like if I'm at a party or something, I'm not like life of the party or anything. Just kind of laying the cut. So having a weekly podcast where I have to expunge at length for an hour or two hours, whatever it may be, it forces you. You have no guests? Sometimes I do. Like I had Joe List on. I love Joe List. I love Joe List too. Yeah. Yeah. It's hilarious. So I'm going to use my network I've been doing stand up for. So I want to like get Bobby on eventually and just whoever wants to do it to like get some guests. But I also like not having it be so guest dependent where the people just like me and my co-host. Yeah. And yeah. Yeah. So just like I've just found that podcasting has lent itself to elevating my stand up even. For sure. It not just elevated my stand up, but it elevated who I like the way I think about things. It elevated my ability to communicate with people. Like I'm way better at talking to people now. I'm critical about my ability to talk to people. Like if I have a conversation that's clunky, this is so weird. Like just a dinner conversation. I say something clunky or it bothers me. Like I wake up in the middle and I take a leak and it bothers me. I'm fucking I'm like if people think I'm like cocky, I'm the most hypercritical person that I know. I fucking hate everything I do. I have to accept that everything I like release a special. I don't ever watch them. I edit them and then I never watch them again. I just release it. I don't want to watch myself. I hate myself. I'm the same way, dude. That way. Yeah. Like sometimes trolls will like write some shit or whatever. I think what trolls don't understand is I don't love everything I do. Of course. You're probably right. Yeah. For sure. There's no other way to get good. Yeah. You have to be hypercritical. Yeah. But the thing about being an artist or whatever is you have to put yourself out there. Good or bad. You have to put yourself out there. Yeah. And if you get that, you get that. Some people like it. Some people don't. But I took the swing and there it is. I don't love everything that I've done. The thing is they didn't take the swing. The trolls didn't take the swing. And one of the things that they have the ability to do is they have the ability to criticize you and criticize everyone without looking at themselves. And that's why they focus so much time on criticizing other people. Yeah. I've almost found though that I don't get mad at that. I understand it for what it is. But also I think that troll forum or whatever, like that's their comedy store. That's their outlet. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. And I get it. Well, that's why I think comments are important. I used to think that comments are like, like I had a friend reach out when I said that I want to figure out a way for Spotify to put comments on the episodes and they were like, don't fucking do that. This friend reached out and he was like, that is the worst part of YouTube is the comments. I'm like, I don't know if that's right. I mean, it's sometimes the worst part of the comments, but also sometimes it gives people the ability and I can't read them. And one of the reasons why I can't read them is I don't, I don't have the time. I don't have the time to engage with all these different ideas and opinions. And I think that it is long. Like if I was being disingenuous with my criticism on myself, I probably could use comments to keep me in line, but I'm fucking ruthless with myself. I'm good. And I don't want to hurt my feelings. I'm the same way. Uh, I kind of create, I put it out there and I don't need to go. I always like in going into the comment section, it's like Lord of the rings. You put a battle helmet on. Fight the orcs. Yeah. You fight the orcs. Yeah. It's just not emotional as an artist. There's no good. There's no good in going into the comments. It's not healthy. So it's not healthy to hear the good stuff either. Yeah. Praising you like, but I understand the value and that it's community based and yeah, that's great that they have a forum to do that. There's a value in that. There's a value in that. That's where YouTube shines. I don't have to be privy to that. I can just create, blast it out and just worry about me. That's where YouTube shines over all other forums is that they have that comment section. I think that Spotify needs to recognize that. I've tried to talk to them about that and there's been some discussion about putting comment, but one of the things they said was like, if we put comments on your podcast, we have to put comments on everybody's podcast. Yeah. So, but I go, why, why just put them online. I don't give a fuck. Just put them online. It's like these people that are commenting, even if they have criticism, they're fucking listening man. Yeah. Like sometimes they hate me and sometimes they love me, but that's just like me. I don't like me all the time. Yeah, I have this thought. I go sometimes like when somebody writes something shitty, I want to be like, you think you can top what's in my brain. Yeah, it's impossible. You think you're a better troll in my brain. You're not there when I wake up at five in the morning angry at myself and I go to the gym. You have no idea. Yeah. I'm like, oh, I'm going to get it. Good luck. Yeah. Good luck. Good luck. Yeah. These fucking monsters in my head. Good luck. Catch new episodes of the Joe Rogan experience for free only on Spotify. Watch back catalog JRE videos on Spotify, including clips easily, seamlessly switch between video and audio experience on Spotify. 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