Podcaster and Entrepreneur Joe Budden and CEO of The Joe Budden Network, Ian Schwartzman, sat down with Forbes to discuss retaining creative and financial independence in the podcasting industry. Budden and Schwartzman also discussed early podcasting deal structures, their direct-to-consumer monetization strategy, and the development of their proprietary community platform, acommunity.com.
00:00 Building A Twenty Million Dollar Business Independently
08:00 Transitioning From The Music Business To Podcasting
16:00 Lessons Learned From Early Streaming Distribution Deals
25:00 Direct To Consumer Monetization And Sponsorship Realities
35:00 The New Tech Strategy For Creators
54:00 Long Term Network Growth And Future Industry Outlook
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2026/07/30/why-podcast-pioneer-joe-budden-will-never-sell-out/
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Buddy doing the interview was feisty 😭😭
Hearing Ian say “that’s why they hate us but they need us” just gave me a great deal of respect for their partnership. Having someone who gets it, the Ian to Joe, makes life that much more easier. I don’t have to turn down partnerships, brand deals etc who don’t align with our mission statement, because the manager partner is in alignment and in sync with who and what businesses we should stay clear of!
Also, i love how they know one another so well that they know when to get out of the way. Nice song and dance. I get it!
Visibly uncomfortable once race was mentioned probably thinking about this platforms own brand deals… pretty apropos
31:43 the difference between political shows having a hard time getting ads vs black creators is that political views are a choice and can be changed, a creators race can’t
He just gossiped. He was one of the first. It really is that simple.
BRAND ‘SAFE’ = R*cist is facts. To all you smaller shows out there, keep going. You are the future.
29:22 I loved that Joe and Ian pressed “Matt” about that “brand safe” BS. He tried to dance around it, but Joe and Ian forced him back on the dance floor.