Sometimes, the money isn’t always worth it — at least, according to “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper.
Cooper, 31, explained during a recent appearance on “The Burnouts” podcast that starting off a deal with a “bad faith negotiation” has pushed her to turn down millions of dollars throughout her career “instead of sacrificing” her likeness.
“I’ve walked away from millions of dollars because I’m like, ‘That’s just too much and you threw things in there at the last minute because you were getting greedy as a brand or a company, wanting me to do something that I don’t feel comfortable in,’” she said. “Even if they rectified it, I think that you have to listen to who you’re sitting across from in business.”
If a deal is “going a little sour” in the beginning, the Unwell Network founder said it’s more important to remember that “there will be another moment like that.”
Cooper also broke down her decision to sign an exclusive deal with Spotify when going solo after leaving Barstool Sports in June 2021. (Cooper and former “Call Her Daddy” cohost Sofia Franklyn famously had a falling out in 2020, pushing them to part ways.)
Cooper revealed for the first time that her options were between Spotify and Amazon.
“I was looking at both companies and recognizing the value of both companies. Spotify, to be honest, it was the same amount of money, basically, and a little less work,” she admitted. “With the Amazon deal, it was so many more episodes and it was more behind certain paywalls.”
At the time, Cooper was “a one-woman show” and was focusing on the execution over everything.
“I wanted to be a good partner. When someone is handing you that type of money, you want to make sure that you’re exceeding their expectations,” she continued. “With everything that I looked at with the Spotify deal, I felt like I actually could wrap my head around the deliverables.”
Spotify asked for 52 episodes a year, and Cooper received a check “every single month” of “guaranteed money,” which was a “crazy” deal when looking back.
“I didn’t have to hit benchmarks. I didn’t have to hit anything,” she recalled. “In hindsight, I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, Spotify. I love you so much.’”
Cooper’s $60 million Spotify deal meant “Call Her Daddy” would be exclusively on that streaming platform.
“I was also taking a hit by taking that Spotify deal, because I was going, essentially, behind a paywall,” she continued. “You could no longer find me on Apple, which was my biggest platform at the time. I converted and all of these millennial and Gen Z women came to Spotify, and it was fabulous.”
Cooper added, “It was successful. Yes, I made all that money, which was great. In terms of the new deal I have [with SiriusXM], I think I’ve gotten so much more savvy in all of the different caveats and carve outs that you can do in podcasting. Podcasting has just expanded.”
