from Trung Phan | by Trung Phan

In 2018, Alex Cooper launched "Call Her Daddy" on Barstool with only $70k in guaranteed money. 3 years later, she closed a $60m deal with Spotify. Every creator should study her story. Fortunately, Dave Portnoy has laid it all out in 2 separate podcasts. Here's a breakdown 🧵 t.co/UfsT1OD27U

1/ FYI: "Call Her Daddy" is a female-led podcast that covers sex, culture, relationships etc. It launched in 2018 on Barstool w/ 2 hosts (Alex, Sofia). They split in 2020. Cooper took the show to #5 most-streamed on Spotify and just signed a 3yr/$60m deal with the streamer. t.co/s4RdDCft9r

2/ Dave Portnoy discovered "Call Her Daddy' on Instagram. t.co/cBqE4DmhXP

3/ In 2018, Barstool offered Alex and Sofia each a 3-year deal: ◻️ ~$70k base ◻️ % of merchandise ◻️ bonus on podcast downloads BUT: Barstool kept the "Call Her Daddy" IP t.co/AlqeRG1tst

4/ Portnoy's pitch to any content creator that joins Barstool: t.co/VjaACKoFup

5/ "Call Her Daddy" is a total smash shit and the girls make bank in year 1: Alex = $506k, Sofia = $461k. They push for a new contract for year 2: ◻️ $1m guaranteed ◻️ Become freelancers (not Barstool employees) ◻️ 50% of merch, ads etc. ◻️ **Get back** "Call Her Daddy" IP

6/ Barstool balked at the offer and find out the girls are shopping "Call Her Daddy" to other podcast networks: t.co/hxj45bE74q

7/ "Call Her Daddy" goes dark in early 2020 and stops posting new content. To get them back, Barstool offers: ◻️ $500k base salary ◻️ 7.5% of merchandise ◻️ A 6-month reduction in contract length ◻️ **Give them** "Call Her Daddy" IP ◻️ Barstool gets 80% of any alcohol sales

8/ TLDR: Alex -- who does all the editing work on the podcast and is the original connection to Barstool -- takes a deal. Sofia won't do a deal. Turns out, her BF is a hotshot HBO exec trying to poach "Call Her Daddy" to Wondery. (He's now left HBO, Sofia has her own podcast). t.co/n9LTZhPHna

9/ Fast forward to June 2021, "Call Her Daddy" is: ◻️ 5th most popular podcast globally on Spotify ◻️ Top 15 across all podcast services This week, Spotify inked 26-year Cooper to a 3yr/$60m deal and "first look agreement" on any other projects she develops.

10/ Barstool will still do "Call Her Daddy" merch and Portnoy is happy with the arrangement t.co/bpyIi5YeMk

11/ The math of Cooper's Spotify deal didn't make sense for Barstool t.co/FYy5ZEgDyw

12/ Why the deal makes sense for Spotify t.co/JQglm2yMDH

13/ At the end of the day, superstar creators (e.g., Rogan, Cooper) are like top-tier athletes t.co/ha6CLxIm0y

14/ Follow @TrungTPhan for other business breakdowns (and really dumb memes): t.co/5x3ihAYe1i

15/ Sources Portnoy takes over "Call Her Daddy" podcast in May 2020 to explain negotiations: t.co/LlXQ0bu6C6 Amazing notes on Portnoy's takeover (via @blakeir): t.co/psnbpWed1C Portnoy on the Spotify deal (1hr:10min mark): t.co/QbGEm9gnRj

16/ Speaking of Barstool + creators. I previously wrote for @TheHustle how Barstool + the Spittin' Chiclet's (top hockey podcast in the world) launched a vodka brand (Pink Whitney) that has done $100m+ in sales in less than 2yrs: t.co/CxUDwD2GNg