If you’ve ever wondered how streaming and the rise of digital distribution affected musicians, Joe Rogan and his latest guest on the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) recently delved into the subject! The podcast is known for discussions ranging from comedy to technology, mixed martial arts, and more. This time around, the conversation dove into the changing landscape of the music industry.

An avid music listener, Joe Rogan hasn’t shied away from sharing his playlists like the ‘Green Room’ playlist for the fans on Spotify, which he uses to set the mood in his club the ‘Comedy Mothership’. While talking to guest Ari Matti, the pair discussed how pop icons like Madonna have had to get back to touring due to the shift in the industry caused by music streaming platforms!

Joe Rogan and Ari Matti claim “touring” the only route to success in the modern music industry  

During episode no. 2186 of the JRE with comedian and fight commentator, Ari Matti, the duo delved into how the digital age has reshaped the way artists make money, with streaming taking over and record sales becoming a thing of the past.

Rogan pointed out that, “The moment music becomes a digital piece of information that can be uploaded to a hard drive, the moment that happens, it’s over… Record sales just went away. Guys were making millions and millions of dollars from record sales and then they’d go on tour…”

Using the example of Napster, a peer-to-peer file-sharing application that was launched in 1999, the podcast host went on to claim that the record labels should have adapted the system for themselves instead. According to Rogan, “…they should have done that the moment Napster came out. They should hired like the best coders and said, ‘Okay, there is no way you’re stopping this, the dam broke, water’s coming through and record sales are gone.”

But Ari Matti then added a unique perspective to the conversation. Matti claimed that, “But even live touring was on a down slope because you didn’t need to do that much. Record sales was the bag right. That’s why Madonna went back on tour I don’t know this but…”

While agreeing with Matti’s statement, Rogan added his own cheeky response as to why his ‘high school crush’ started touring again. The podcast host humorously added “She also probably wanted to say, what’s up. Let b*tches know, still around.”

The conversation highlighted how even the biggest stars in the music industry have had to adapt to survive in the face of the rapid advancement of technology. However, the decision to start touring may have been the right one for Madonna as she has been massively successful in 2024 with her live performances!

Rogan’s ‘high school’ crush shows no signs of slowing down in 2024

‘The Material Girl’ is still dominating the live music scene in 2024. According to Pollstar’s mid-year report, the pop legend has the highest-grossing tour of the year so far. With an average ticket price of $208.85, she pulled in an impressive $2.79 million per show, selling over 13,000 tickets on average. Across 34 reported shows, Madonna sold a total of 856,247 tickets, making her tour the biggest in the world this year.

Even though not all tours report their numbers, Pollstar’s statistics paint a clear picture: 2024 has been a year of steady, strong performances in the music industry, with Madonna leading the charge. As Rogan said in the podcast, the numbers indicate that Madonna is still showing the world she’s very much “around” and her tour numbers back that up! What do you think about music streaming’s impact on the industry and the changes it has caused? Let us know in the comments below.