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Reshawn McDonald
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Podcast Host
Let's start with here our podcast Falling Apart. So Gilbert Arenas, he announced on his podcast that Underdog Fantasy owns 50 of his show and that they could potentially lead to downsizing. Potentially. Maybe less episodes, maybe less. Less staff if the revenue, you know doesn't make sense as far as underdog standards and you know what they think would be appropriate as far as the spin that they're putting into the show versus the money that they get out of the show. We've also saw Mark Lamont Hill and Queen's Flip almost get into a fight.
Reshawn McDonald
So my brothers, two of my brothers, I don't like when the Family Feuds.
Podcast Host
You know, we saw, you know, a few other, a few other staples in the hip hop community, you know, throw shots at each other. We've seen a lot of stuff is happening. So is the podcast game falling apart?
Reshawn McDonald
I've been screaming this for three or four years, but most of the people that y' all see who are potting things may not be going. And this is not the Queens flip bookmark because those are my brothers, brothers in arms, yada yada. I'm glad they talked it out. Talked to Flip the other day. But to me it is a indicator of how well someone is or is not doing based on how quickly they are willing to get into arguments with others. Shout out to all the rappers. Shout out to every crew. I love y', all, but I think when things are going well, there are signs, right? One sign. Nori. Every. Y' all know Nori. Every time I see Norio Instagram, Monaco Yach bottle from Jay Z, he with Tata just new watch. Nor got 73 watches in the last two years.
Podcast Host
Nor, you gotta chill man. You gotta chill, man. He got too many watches.
Reshawn McDonald
Jacob and co Connoir, right? You see that even Joe Joe get into a lot less kerfuffles these days after that number got leaked. So our podcast in trouble. Yes, I think the formation of them. I like Gil a lot. Gil's arena actually is one of my favorite shows. But the difference that we have to stress is that every good deal and good partnership that looks good may not be good for you long term. What good is a partnership if it removes. They removed his name off of Gil's arena. Now Gilda straight gives money. You'll probably made what, 400 million in his lifetime in the NBA. So he's fine. But I do think some of these podcasts and streaming deals can be predatory. Even the guy from Twitch saying Kai isn't on a mountain. Rushmore of streaming like how name me four other speaker. He said both Kai and Speed are on the mountain. What?
Podcast Host
Yeah, you say kind Speed are not on the mount version of streaming.
Reshawn McDonald
So yeah, independence is important. Good being a good business person is your own. And one thing I want to stress like people a lot of times go for bigger viewership. The number that really matters is percentage of equity and non dilutable shares. It's a lot of y' all who getting 2 million views. I can't scrounge up 20,000 for an emergency. Don't walk into the predatory deal is my advice. Continue to build. Build a craft that people are going to need from you. But I think it's a travesty what is being done with that deal structure and the timing of it after the gambling, the irony even in that he get arrested for underground gambling. And here come underdog taking 50 rights. Be careful.
Podcast Host
100. And I also think just some game, you know, if you guys are interested, and I said this before, for you content creators out there, I don't think that if your business model revolves solely around revenue that's produced from people watching your show, as far as like ad dollars, that's.
Reshawn McDonald
Me steak.
Podcast Host
Now, not to say there's nothing wrong with ad dollars, but that should be add. That should be added. Okay, litmus test. If you're not able to run your show in a hypothetical scenario that you had zero ad dollars, then you need to rework your business model. So what a lot of people do is they have a fire, they have paywall. Joe Button obviously has done it the best as far as his Patreon is concerned. Right. Where he has free content, but then he has a Patreon as well.
Reshawn McDonald
Right.
Podcast Host
And you see that with a lot of shows, whereas horrible decisions, whether it's, you know, 85 south with channel 85, they have the free content, which is used as like a gateway to the emotional. Yeah, everybody's not gonna go to the paywall, but there'll be enough paid subscribers that it balances out the free content. That's one way. That's one way. Another way is to offer products and services that also can serve as an, as another form of a paywall. Right. So I say that all the time. As far as, if you look at market Mondays, that's public school and that's. That's free for anybody. But if you really want to know where to buy, right. The prices and the list and all that, well, that's Red Panda, Harvard. If you really want to know how. If you really want to know how to trade options, if you really want to know, get the financial planning calls and the resources that we have, that's EY University. So we, we offer both. Both ways, right? Yeah, that's another one. And I think that you really have to think about it in bigger terms as far as the free platforms that we're on. YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter. As long as. Because they're not always potentially even going to be able to be. We're not always potentially going to have this reach that we have because it is, it is good to be able to reach a lot of people. The downside is that you don't get paid, but as you're reaching people, you're supposed to use that to grow your brand to now you can do other things outside of that.
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Podcast Host
2.
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Seriously, it's $15 a month. 3. No big contracts.
Podcast Host
4.
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I use it. 5. My mom uses it. Are you, are you playing me off? That's what's happening, right? Okay, give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan $15 per month equivalent required New customer offer first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com Ugh. Come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient. Still using yesterday's tech upgrade to the ThinkPad X ultralight. Ultra powerful and built for serious productivity with Intel Core Ultra processors, blazing speed and AI powered performance that keeps up with your business, not the other way around. Whoa. This thing moves. Stop hitting snooze on new tech. Win the tech search@lenovo.com Lenovo Lenovo unlock AI experiences with the ThinkPad X1 carbon powered by Intel Core Ultra processors so you can work, create and boost productivity all on one device. The US Electric grid is approaching a breaking point as demand soars from data centers and home energy use. Our aging infrastructure can't keep up and the Department of Energy warns that without action, blackouts could surge 100 fold by 2030. The good news? One solution is already here. Propane. It's American made, stored on site and always ready. Powering homes and businesses with cleaner, reliable energy that doesn't depend on the grid or the weather. Learn more@probane.com this is Reshawn McDonald from.
Reshawn McDonald
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Every business starts with an idea. How can you go from daydreamer to industry leader? Amazon Business accelerates your journey with smart business buying. Get everything you need to grow in one familiar place. From office supplies to IT essentials and maintenance tools. Amazon Business takes the buying experience you know and love from Amazon Plus Tools to help you save costs and make insights based decisions ready to bring your visions to life. Learn how@amazonbusiness.com right, so just think about.
Podcast Host
That if you're a Content creator. But if you're just saying, okay, I'm just going to make content all day and my revenue model is going to.
Reshawn McDonald
Be selling ads for ads.
Podcast Host
And you, it's going to be a difficult, a difficult scenario because anything could happen. And when you start to lose revenue or when they said, like I said, underdog, they want to cut back now, you, you have nothing, you have no other option but to say, okay, whatever you want to do, because you own half of the show. And my whole thing is, I don't know why you need to own the show. Like, you can, you can be a partner, you could be an ad partner and we can, we can, we can have a deal. You own it. Showing it's like obviously Gilbert Arenas, you already, he already has money. So that's another thing. Don't be afraid to put your money up sometimes, like as an entrepreneur, like, and there's been a few people potentially like that kind of fall in that situation where you would think from the outside in, like they already have. They came into it. See, we're, we're anomalies for sure. If you wait like as far as the people that. Actually most people in 2025 in podcast space, let's say for black men, podcast space, not streamers, podcast space. Most of them are a celebrity from a time before. So Cameron Equity over. Yeah, Cameron and Mace were celebrities from a time before when they used to rap. Gilbert Arenas and his crew was the celebrities one time before when they used to play basketball.
Reshawn McDonald
Great.
Podcast Host
All the smoke was with celebrities from time before when they used to play basketball. Noriega was a celebrity of time before when he used to, when he used to rap. Fat Joe and Jada, they were celebrities. I mean they still rap, but you know celebrities from hip hop and they carried it over. Now you got Jim Jones may know Fabulous Davies rappers. So Joe Button, a rapper who carried, who carried it over. There's not a lot of people at the high level, at the, at the higher echelon that were not any level of celebrity that broke through and it's going to become that now. It's even hard. It's harder now.
Reshawn McDonald
Yep.
Podcast Host
They all sort of play. So now they all coming in. All of the rappers, all the basketball players, all the football, the pivot, those ex football players, they all coming into the space. So now they have a. They have an advantage over you because you're starting with a thousand followers. They're starting with a million followers already.
Reshawn McDonald
Travis Kelsey and his brother. But the differentiator and equalizer is do you have a skill set that many are not talking about that can help millions or billions of people. I would love to see someone in this era just talk about how to get hired in corporate and succeed. There's a lot of gaps that can be filled, and very important key lesson is to not follow everyone else's business model and not be in a sector or space that everyone else is in. When I came in and I was charging premium price, people like, you're crazy. I'm like, it's crazy to not charge premium. Here we are. A lot of people have tried to adjust. 2026, I got a plan for y', all, and I'm gonna show you. At one time, I remember when it wasn't in vogue to talk about investing or stocks, and now here we are. There's a proliferation of people that do that. 2026, I got a plan for y'.
Podcast Host
All.
Reshawn McDonald
Stay tuned. A great piece of advice in business is to always do the opposite of what the field is doing. And I see a lot of people broadcasting, podcasting who are copying the same model. And it's like. But the 50 ownership pieces is smart, because if they can get him to focus on the football show, to sell more ads to that audience, which is more beneficial for. For Underdog, Allegedly. But I dropped Gilbert's value talking about basketball, which that's a really great show. I can demonize. You take your audience and then sell ads against the audience that you built for your lifetime since you've been a ball player. He's not the only one that goes. And the most important thing, too, in business is to be able to say no. That's why I tell y' all some of them conversations of, okay, if you get 150, can you just say, no, I don't want to do this on my show. No, no, no. I don't want to. My favorite thing in business is I don't feel like it. You want me to really do it? Pay me 7 million. I don't want to do it. Sorry.
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Yeah.
Podcast Host
And the thing about it is, you got to be able to. Sometimes you're chasing something that might not be as profitable as what you already have. I said that before, like, as far as never discount a niche audience. We might not have the largest audience in the world, but we have an educated audience that has higher income, that has a higher level of priorities. I would rather have our audience than some, like, you know, a lot. I don't even want to name nobody's names, but there's a lot of people that Might talk about rap or something like, and they'll get a million views, but it's like these people just stay in their face. They don't work, they don't contribute to society. They're not going to be a customer to you ever. They're never gonna like. So it's like never discount quality over quality. Yes. 100.
Reshawn McDonald
Yeah. Two fives don't make a 10. Threesome that go for business. You can't even sell the audience to a CPG company if you wanted to.
Podcast Host
So that's just some. Some game for you guys if you're interested. But, you know, do what you want with it.
Reshawn McDonald
But kudos to you. Love the show. I hope he can work his way out of that deal. But be careful, my brother. You got a hot show. Be careful.
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Reshawn McDonald
No.
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Reshawn McDonald
Nope.
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Reshawn McDonald
Get almost almost anything for game day.
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Reshawn McDonald
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Podcast Host
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Reshawn McDonald
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Date: October 20, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings (Earn Your Leisure, iHeartPodcasts)
This episode tackles the state of the podcasting industry, exploring whether the “podcast game is falling apart.” Rashad and Troy discuss ownership, equity, and the dangers of predatory deals, using recent headlines as examples. They break down what it takes to survive in a shifting content landscape, emphasizing independent business models, the power of niche audiences, and the need for real equity over vanity metrics.
The hosts open by referencing industry drama (e.g., Gilbert Arenas' podcast ownership change, public feuds between creators) as potential signs of instability.
[02:11] Host: “Let’s start with here our podcast Falling Apart. So Gilbert Arenas... Underdog Fantasy owns 50% of his show... potentially lead to downsizing...”
Internal industry beefs (Mark Lamont Hill and Queen's Flip, shots fired in hip-hop circles) are seen as symptoms of wider financial and partnership stress.
[02:55] Host: “...a few other staples in the hip hop community ... throw shots at each other ... a lot of stuff is happening. So is the podcast game falling apart?”
The increasing volatility is connected to the underlying health and structure of podcast business deals.
Rashad addresses how deals that seem lucrative up front (big viewership, brand partnerships) may strip creators of equity and creative control.
[04:10] Rashad: “...every good deal and good partnership that looks good may not be good for you long term. What good is a partnership if it removes... [your] name off of [the show]...”
Specific mention: Underdog Fantasy taking 50% of Gilbert Arenas’ show, changing its focus and removing his name—echoed as a warning to other creators.
[05:14] Rashad: “Be careful. Independence is important... the number that really matters is percentage of equity and non-dilutable shares. It’s a lot of y’all who getting 2 million views, [but] can’t scrounge up 20,000 for an emergency. Don’t walk into the predatory deal is my advice.”
The irony of some platforms (e.g., gaming/gambling) capitalizing on creators’ personal brands after those very brands have been put at risk.
The hosts strongly caution against an over-reliance on ad dollars as the sole revenue source. [06:38] Host: “...if your business model revolves solely around revenue that’s produced from people watching your show, as far as like, ad dollars, that’s... mistake.”
They outline alternatives:
Warning that platforms like YouTube/Spotify/Instagram may change the rules or restrict reach at any time; creators’ core business must not be platform-dependent. [08:41] Host: “...because they're not always potentially even going to be able to be... we're not always going to have this reach... supposed to use that to grow your brand so you can do other things outside of that.”
The vast majority of high-level podcasters are celebrities from other fields (music, sports)—not organically grown in the podcast space. [12:31] Host: “Most people in 2025 in podcast space, let’s say for black men, podcast space, not streamers... are celebrities from a time before.”
Non-celebrity creators are now at disadvantage—they start with zero following while ex-athletes, rappers, and other celebrities bring millions. [13:15] Host: “...they have advantage over you because you’re starting with a thousand followers, they’re starting with a million followers already.”
The remaining advantage for newcomers must be unique skills, underserved niche topics, or differentiated value—not chasing celebrity models.
Importance of equity and saying 'no' to bad deals. [14:25] Rashad: “The most important thing... is to be able to say no. That’s why I tell y’all... my favorite thing in business is I don’t feel like it. You want me to really do it? Pay me 7 million. I don’t want to do it.”
Quality > Quantity: Hosts advocate for cultivating high-quality niche audiences over large but disengaged followings. [15:36] Host: “Sometimes you’re chasing something that might not be as profitable as what you already have... never discount a niche audience. We might not have the largest audience... but we have an educated audience that has higher income, that has a higher level of priorities.”
Rashad offers a final warning and support for creators stuck in questionable arrangements:
[16:45] Rashad: “Kudos to you. Love the show. I hope he can work his way out of that deal. But be careful, my brother. You got a hot show. Be careful.”
[03:15] Rashad: “...most of the people that y'all see who are potting, things may not be going... well. I think when things are going well, there are signs, right?... Nori... [on] Instagram, Monaco Yach bottle from Jay Z, he with Tata just new watch. Nor got 73 watches in the last two years.”
[05:18] Rashad: “Independence is important. ...the number that really matters is percentage of equity and non-dilutable shares. It’s a lot of y’all who getting 2 million views, can’t scrounge up 20,000 for an emergency.”
[12:31] Host: “Most people in 2025 in podcast space... are celebrities from a time before.”
[14:25] Rashad: “...always do the opposite of what the field is doing. ...the most important thing, too, in business is to be able to say no.”
[16:30] Rashad: “Two fives don’t make a ten. ...you can’t even sell the audience to a CPG company if you wanted to.”
This episode delivers a candid and strategic look at the podcasting industry. Rashad and Troy urge creators to prioritize ownership and build sustainable business models, while warning against the allure of flashy partnerships and unbalanced deals. They champion independent thinking, the value of niche audiences, and hard-won business discipline in an increasingly crowded and challenging space.
For creators and fans alike, this episode is both a cautionary tale and a masterclass in podcasting entrepreneurship.