Joe Budden is making bank, at least according to what he told The New York Times.
In a profile published Tuesday (July 22), the rapper-turned-podcaster revealed that his media company — the Joe Budden Network — is averaging $1.04 million per month so far in 2025 on membership platform Patreon, boasts 70,000 paid subscribers and is on pace to clock around $20 million in overall revenue by the end of the year, with that last number provided by chief executive Ian Schwartzman.
The subscription money alone is more than likely going to exceed $12 million, which will make Budden Patreon’s top earner, a Patreon spokesperson told NYT.
Budden’s manager and business partner Schwartzman also told the publication that they sell their own ads instead of linking up with networks such as Wondery, iHeart and SiriusXM, where content creators have to share the revenue. This helps the Joe Budden Network to work with a maximum of three sponsors at a give time in an effort to not bombard the audience with ads.
The money the network brings in allows the company to set aside $1.5 million for the podcast’s cohosts Lamar “Ice” Burney, Trevor “Queenzflip” Robinson, Melyssa Ford, Antwan “Ish” Marby, Parks Vallely and Marc Lamont Hill, according to the NYT.
Schwartzman tells Billboard that he and Budden felt the need to share their revenue in a way to motivate fellow content creators.
“Yes, the numbers are real,” he says of the NYT reporting. “In fact, we didn’t want to share our income. The only reason we did was to show creators — signed or independent — that there is an alternative path. One that doesn’t require you giving up control and ownership. A path that produces fruits just as great as any traditional method and in some cases even better.”
Patreon also confirmed to Billboard that Budden is indeed their top earner, and CEO Jack Conte gave a statement applauding The Joe Budden Network for inspiring creators. “Joe and his team are very much on the same mission Patreon is on: inspiring other creators to do what they do best, follow their passion, build a deep community, all while maintaining creative independence,” Conte says. “By Joe providing this level of access highlighting the success of his business over the last few years, he’s showing creators that it’s possible to maintain ownership and cultivate sustainable businesses while staying true to his soul. Joe has continued to bet on himself and invest in his business and community on Patreon and is seeing the pay-off.”
In June, Budden seemingly revealed on his Instagram how much the pod was making through Patreon subscriptions when he was trying to highlight how many visits the Patreon gets. He blacked out the breakdown of the money he brings in on his creator account. However, someone was able to doctor his screenshot where it showed that the podcast appeared to bring in around $900,000 that month.
Last year, rapper Doe Boy asked Budden on the podcast how much he’s made since he started podcasting, with the Jersey City rapper claiming that he’s made “about $4 million” in 10 years. “I think about 4 mill. Early on, we was doing it for free,” he said. “Then, we hit a little lick, Spotify. Then, n—as left, the building crumbled a little bit. My friends came, saved the day. Probably about three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half million.”
