Alex Cooper's $60,000,000 Spotify Deal Makes "Call Her Daddy" The 2nd Most-Listened To Podcast, Globally, As of 2023

2022 has now come to a close, and Spotify has released its podcast data for the year.

Alex CooperPhoto byBBC via Spotify

Nearing the top of the list is Alex Cooper of the Call Her Daddy podcast, coming in at number 2 of the most globally listened to podcasts, after the media giant Joe Rogan of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Alex's sex-positive podcast has skyrocketed in popularity since its inception in 2018, under the "Barstool Sports" banner. But, took on a life of its own in 2021, after Alex went out on her own, quickly inking an exclusive 3-year, $60,000,000 deal with Spotify.

When the news of Alex's deal first went public, Cooper had this to say (in an interview with Variety),

“I’m incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported, helped and been a part of Call Her Daddy. 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.”

Alex's journey has been quick, but this is largely in part to good decision-making.

Namely, the decision to first sign with Barstool Sports to kickstart the podcast's popularity. Then, to re-sign with the company amidst messy contract negotiations in 2020. A public controversy between the media conglomerate, Alex, her then co-host (Sofia Franklyn), and a mysterious character known as "Suitman."

Since the public spat, Alex and Barstool have parted ways -- but on good terms. On his podcast "The Dave Portnoy Show", Dave Portnoy, president of Barstool sports, shared,

"I would have liked to keep her... [but] that was the right deal for her."

Unfortunately, the same goodwill cannot be sensed for Sofia, who has since started her own podcast, Sofia with an F, with nowhere near the success of Call Her Daddy.

With "Rogan-esque numbers", Alex is now walking red carpets and taking her pick of superstar guests like Hailey Bieber and Miley Cyrus. But, before that she was an unknown podcaster who got her big break signing with the $450-million media conglomerate, Barstool Sports.

Here's a brief history of the "Suitman" drama.

Dave, Alex, and Sofia.Photo byThe Daily Mail (link to article)

In 2018, Dave stumbled across Alex and Sofia's podcast, Call Her Daddy on Instagram and saw potential. He quickly signed the pair to a 3-year exclusive deal with Barstool, paying them each a salary of $75,000 including bonuses based on download numbers.

According to Dave,

"Their downloads were f*cking huge."

At the end of their first year,

- Alex made $506,000

- Sofia made $461,000

Insert Suitman.

In early 2020, Alex and Sofia came to Dave to renegotiate their contracts, feeling as though they had outgrown their current terms. Under the guidance of Sofia's then boyfriend and agent, HBO Sports exec Peter Nelson (who would later be known as "Suitman") the podcasters made some big demands, including $1 million guaranteed, 50% of any profit made from their likeness, and most notably, they wanted to own their IP (allowing them full control over the Call Her Daddy feed).

Happy to negotiate, Dave sat down with Alex and Sofia to talk.

"We had a conversation, I thought it went well, and I get an email from Alex and Sofia, which clearly was not written by Alex and Sofia, it was written by a lawyer that basically said, 'Hey we want to sit down and re-do this deal'. And more than that it said, 'We don't feel we were represented properly when we signed with you guys and never would have given you the IP.'"

Then, on April 08th, 2020, as a protest of sorts, the Call Her Daddy feed went dark.

After nearly 5 weeks without posting, on May 17th, 2020, Dave went public with the story, recording an impromptu podcast episode, titled "Daddy Speaks", in which he explained the situation from his point of view.

After some back and forth, and during the uncertain times of the 2020 pandemic, Dave, Erika Nardini (Barstool Sports CEO), and Alex and Sofia's lawyer all got together on a conference call to hash out the matter. Feeling the impact of the pandemic, Dave decided to extend an olive branch, offering Alex and Sofia one last deal.

On an episode of the Full Send Podcast, Dave recounts the moment in which Alex and Sofia's trajectories split.

"Basically they were getting ready to leave and we needed them. So, I made them an unbelievable deal. I was like, 'You guys can take the IP, I'll shorten your contracts and give you more money, we just need you for another year.'"

Alex took the deal -- Sofia didn't.

From there, the voices of Call Her Daddy were reduced to one -- Alex Cooper. Despite losing Sofia, the success of the podcast continued to rise, and Alex has now become one of the biggest voices in all of media entertainment.

When asked who ended up in the better situation, Dave said this:

"Well, Alex got a 3-year, $60,000,000 deal from Spotify so I'd say she did ok."

And as for Sofia, he said this,

"That's one of the worst decisions ever made by a human."

Hindsight is always 20/20, but money can make even the clearest decisions murky. Although it's impossible to tell what the future holds, current events show that Alex is on a rocket-fueled trajectory soaring toward the sun, whereas Sofia may have already reached her glass ceiling.

Learn more about Alex Cooper and the Call Her Daddy drama, here.

Hey, I'm Hudson! I write about social media, marketing, and modern entrepreneurship. Hit follow for more stories like this one.