Rogan's Spotify Deal Changes All Media, XBOX to Shut Down?, Matthew McConaughey-Zach Bryan Project, Jay-Z Calls Out the Grammy's-The Stats Tell a Different Story, (The Five for 02/09/24)
Plus--the Amy Winehouse biopic looks amazing--but shouldn't have been made for this reason.
Hey, welcome to The Five, a publication about the stories that matter.
It’s Friday, so let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
The biggest podcast in the world will be funded by Spotify…but no longer exclusive to Spotify.
USA Today reports:
Spotify is extending its relationship with controversial podcast host Joe Rogan.
Spotify announced the renewed partnership in a post on the company’s corporate blog Friday. Under a prior multimillion-dollar deal, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” had been a Spotify exclusive since 2020. Under the new deal, the podcast will now be available on competing platforms including YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the new deal on Friday and reported that Joe Rogan would receive a $250 million contract over its multiyear term, according to sources. The Wall Street Journal also is reporting that the contract involves an upfront minimum guarantee, in addition to a revenue sharing agreement based on ad sales.
I don’t subscribe to Spotify, which means I’ll be deleting the app, which I only used for Rogan’s podcast. It’s an interesting move on Spotify’s part, dropping a quarter billion dollars and allowing the podcast to leave their walled garden, which likely signals the ads on Rogan’s show are worth more than the monthly subscribers the UFC commentator attracts.
Elsewhere, XBOX is reportedly letting the brand’s top exclusive games release on it’s chief competitor’s hardware.
Major Xbox console exclusives such as Bethesda's Starfield and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are being considered for launch on Sony's PlayStation 5, as part of a huge shift in strategy by Microsoft.
Previous reports suggested Xbox would bring a handful of smaller titles to PlayStation beginning this year, including Hi-Fi Rush - something Eurogamer understood to be true and also which has now seemingly been confirmed by its in-game files. But the idea that Microsoft will also - at some point - drop exclusivity for some of its biggest games marks a policy change far bigger than previously expected.
A swathe of reports emerged last night suggesting Microsoft's PlayStation plans now included Starfield - Xbox's tentpole release for 2023, albeit one which received a somewhat mixed reception - and potentially also Indiana Jones - the company's biggest release currently on the calendar for 2024.
XboxEra was first to report that Starfield will launch on PS5 this year after the game receives its previously-announced Shattered Space expansion. Reliable insiders NateTheHate and Randalthor19 corroborated the report. Eurogamer has contacted Microsoft for comment.
The Verge separately reported that a PS5 version of Indiana Jones was also being considered, with a short exclusivity of only a few months for Xbox and PC.
Between these two stories…the era of exclusive content appears to be dwindling.
UPDATE: Some outlets are now speculating XBOX will stop making consoles completely.
[two]
Elusive 90’s star Tracy Chapman hopped on a duet with Luke Combs at the Grammy Awards, which was A). pure magic and B). somehow not on YouTube (watch it on X, aka Twitter, here).
Combs, a huge fan of Chapman, has been covering the 80’s hit since the early days of his career, somehow got labeled as racist (or, racist adjacent?) due to the song’s success at country radio…when Chapman was never played on country radio.
There’s a reason for that…Tracy Chapman’s label never PITCHED “Fast Car” to country radio, so it was never considered. There wasn’t a need, as Chapman sold out Wembley Stadium in London and played before 80,000 people. That’s about as big as an artist can get without having the last name Lennon, McCarthy, Harrison or Starr.
Sunday night, Chapmans shut everyone up by duetting with Combs, laying to rest a “controversy” that never should have been controversial.
Is there racism? Sure. In country music? I don’t doubt it (although it can come from the political left side of country music too—looking at you, Jason Isbell).
Is any real racism fixed by making up stuff about Luke Combs? Not one bit.
Elsewhere, Jay-Z took shots at everyone, essentially insinuating his wife Beyonce never won a Grammy due to racism.
From CBS News:
The 24-time Grammy winner turned his attention to his wife, R&B superstar Beyoncé.
"I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work," Jay-Z said as the cameras cut to Beyonce standing in the audience. Her win for best dance/electronic album for "Renaissance" at last year's ceremony raised her win total to 32, the most of all time.
I’m the wrong person to ask here, as I actively dislike Beyonce’s music, aside from a few singles from her early career, and don’t tend to like much R&B that’s been released since the 1980s (I do like the old stuff). As far as my listening habits go, the genre essentially died with Marvin Gaye (who was murdered by his own father, tragically).
A large list of artists have been nominated several times and never won, including Brian McNight (17 nominations), Snoop Dogg (16 nominations), Dierks Bentley (15 nominations), Martina McBride (14 nominations), Nicki Minaj (12 nominations) and even Diana Ross—who was nominated every year from 1970-1982, and never won.
That list of artists covers a bevy of races and genres, and doesn’t speak to much of anything on who wins and who doesn’t. In reality, the Grammy’s are voted on by the music industry, so the winners are more likely to be artists on labels with more employees…which means the awards are more about head count than quality.
Which means awards shows don’t mean much. Which is why I don’t watch them…and only covered this one to prove how worthless awards shows are.
[three]
Remember that kid who got bullied for being “racist” for attending a Kansas City Chiefs game in a headdress and facepaint?
His parents are suing defamation, per ABC.
The parents of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan are suing sports blog Deadspin for allegedly “maliciously” criticizing their son for his face paint and traditional Native American headdress.
Raul Armenta, Jr. and his wife, Shannon, allege Deadspin willfully spread “incendiary” lies about their child, identified as H.A. in the lawsuit obtained by Reasn.com, to fuel its "race-drenched" political agenda.
“Deadspin has gone too far. H.A. should not have to live with his face being plastered on social media alongside false and defamatory accusations of racist conduct,” Raul and Shannon argue. “His parents should not be forced to live with the false and defamatory allegation that they are teaching ‘hate in the home.’”
The parents claim the sports blog used a selectively captured photo of H.A., showing the child at an angle displaying the black side of his red-and-black painted face, to accompany a November article accusing him of finding a way to express hatred for Black people and Native Americans at the same time.
Turns out, not only is the boy a member of the Cumash Tribe, but his grandfather is a chief.
Deadspin may just live up to their name…and be dead in court.
[four]
In the conversation around gender and jobs…Chile sent an all women’s SWAT team to an international competition…saying it didn’t go well is an understatement. The all-women’s team failed to cross a water hazard on the first two tries, and dropped their weapons into the water.
In a world obsessed with “sex and gender” like they’re two different things (news flash: they aren’t), women are reaching new heights in athletics, from the US Women’s Soccer Team being more popular than the men’s, Ronda Rousey earning the highest paycheck form the UFC one year, or Caitlin Clark pulling in 1.6 million viewers for college basketball.
But there is one physical endeavor that men just do better…and that’s killing people. And SWAT teams exist, mostly to kill people. The NAVY SEALS, the world’s most lethal fighting force, operates with team members that some estimate to be mostly 6’2” and up, which changes the nature of battle. For one, brute strength, size and reach matter for close quarter combat, which is why boxing and the UFC don’t match up 120 lb fighters against 265lb heavyweights.
Secondarily, larger people have more blood, which explains why NAVY SEAL Mike Day could survive being shot 27 times and still keep fighting. Sure, there are VERY rare exceptions to the rule, but 99% of the time, women will die faster from gunshots and stab wounds than men.
A dumb police competition is one thing, but global events could result in the U.S. reinstating the draft and considering some in infantry combat, especially with Gen Z males being physically weaker than any living generation (and probably any past generation). I personally know women fighter pilots and combat helicopter pilots who are exceptional at what they do, but if we put women into close quarter combat where soldiers sometimes battle with blades, we’re just going to wind up with a lot of dead women.
[five]
As always let's head into the weekend with a pop culture roundup.
I have conflicted feeling about an Amy Winehouse biopic, as the singer’s hit single “Rehab” was about firing her entire team after they confronted her about the substance abuse that eventually caused her death.
Winehouse’s breakthrough released in 2006, and the last five years of her life were mainly filled with divorce, addiction and being repeatedly arrested for violent behavior. Which is viewed as charming and tragic when associated with a bestselling British soul artist…but in reality is just the playbook followed in every trailer park in America.
But dang, this looks good…and also, completely romanticized and not true. I know this feels like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth, but I’m concerned about glorifying a tragic life when the real message of Amy’s tragic demise should be a strong warning against her choices.
Newcomer Marisa Abela seems to embody the troubled singer’s essence AND voice. See it in theaters May 10th.
A conspiracy thriller about John Wilkes Booth assassinating Lincoln, and the hunt for the actor-turned-killer?! Heck yes, this look amazing! See it on Apple TV+ on 03/15.
Before we move on, my direct ancestor was a campaign manager for Lincoln, so on behalf of my family’s honor, I can’t wait to see Booth hang.
Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) plays a guy with a past trying to go straight…until he’s sucked into one last job. Tired plot? Sure. Engaging setting (New Orleans) and action…and very solid acting? You bet. Parish hits AMC+ on 03/31.
[new music]
Americana vocalist Taylor McCall leans heavily on his late grandfather’s experiences in Vietnam for his new album Mellow War. There are a LOT of great Americana records out these days, and this is another one. Recommended if you like…the kind of stuff covered here. Bryan, Childers, etc.
Kota the Friend is for people who don’t like hip hop…and people who REALLY like hip hop. If your beef with the genre is that it’s too focused on violence, misogyny and drugs…the Brooklyn native isn’t into any of that.
What he is into is VERY dense wordplay, a rapper’s rapper. In the vein of 90’s NYC backpacker hip hop, Kota has turned down three major record labels (there are only four) to stay independent. The “lyrics to go” series is a stream of consciousness rapping with few hooks and next to none of the predictable structure that dominates radio pop.
It’s exceedingly rare for The Five to cover a music video, but when Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar, Dallas Buyer’s Club) stars in a Zach Bryan music video, it’s worth a mention.
The plot here is good enough to develop into a feature film.
[re-discover]
Toby Keith died of cancer this week, and there’s not much I can say about his music that others haven’t (some classic songs, some garbage radio fodder), but if you have event a passing interest in the prolific country artist, this compilation of Toby on the Bobby Bones radio show reveals a lot about the man away from music. Keith was a philanthropist who built the O.K. Kids Korral for childhood cancer patients, a breeder of champion horses, and entrepreneur with holdings in I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants, meat packing, bait and tackle, and Mezcal (basically Mexican moonshine).
Keith’s courage and rock steady faith in Christ at the end of his life are certainly an inspiration to me. See you on the other side, Cowboy.
Until the next one,
-sth