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Jan. 19, 2023 - Louder with Crowder
15:34
I didn't want to do this...
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Peace.
Those things are worth like $5,000 now.
It's an expensive gag.
Waste place for a little bit.
Thank you.
Waste place for a little bit.
God bless the talk boy.
Those things are worth like $5,000 now.
It's an expensive gag.
So, didn't want to have to do this, but daily wire out of themselves
very, very quickly.
And sure enough, if you see all of the people who work there, some of whom I have relationships with, they immediately tried to make this all about money.
Here's the problem.
There are a few problems.
And I'll go through with some receipts.
Everything that was said about negotiations, how they transpired, beyond the numerical value, which is true and I'll get to, everything else is untrue.
I don't really want to get into that.
It's completely irrelevant.
Here's why.
Go back to the 20-something minute video.
30 minute video.
You've never heard me say or write anywhere online that these offers weren't paying enough money.
Why?
Because it's not about the money!
It's kind of unreal to me that the only thing these people can still talk about is the money.
The conversation was about conservatism, the movement, and big tech.
They keep talking about money.
I'm talking about a country.
I'm talking about a movement.
I'm talking about making a difference.
It's not about the money.
And Jeremy and the Daily Wire know that.
How do I know they know that?
Because after According to what he said, you know, I walked away from the offer.
I did place one more call to the Daily Wire and I made it very, very clear that it wasn't about money.
That was not the topic of conversation.
There was zero, as they've tried to portray this, miscommunication.
It was one last call where the only thing that I asked for, my only demand, was their word and not even for me.
Let's say it's a kid who comes in with 500,000 YouTube subscribers or something like that, 100,000.
Let's say it's some other kid, you're paying six figures to come in and do it.
There's not the penalty of the demonetization or if they're removed from iTunes, Apple, YouTube.
Here's something else.
I was also very measured.
I was painstakingly clear in taking myself off the table because it wasn't going to be a right fit.
That happens in business all the time.
But that we weren't talking about me.
We were talking about the futures of other people who could potentially be in that position.
That very disconcerting position.
No miscommunication.
What I'm talking about is, you're describing a model for everyone, a model for everyone, not just, let's get rid of me here.
Everyone, if there's a penalty for being demonetized on YouTube, because your business model requires that be a huge component of it, you need to change your business model or this movement cannot work, Jeremy.
I can't imagine my show trying to come up And be beholden to YouTube advertiser guidelines.
Let alone, I mean, honestly, being beholden from a conservative entity with hard strikes, right?
Being removed.
But let alone being advertiser friendly.
We know how broad those guidelines are.
They might as well just read, don't say anything offensive, and they change them at the drop of a hat.
I'm not suggesting that the guidelines aren't terrible.
I'm suggesting that if making money off of those platforms is part of how you're justifying the salary
you're paying someone, then when, or the fee you're, I keep saying salary, the fee you're paying someone,
then when those go away, everybody loses money.
You can't pay the same amount with less revenue.
How about you create a different business model?
Now, I know what some of you are thinking.
Of course, telling someone else, hey, change your business model.
I get it.
I'm in no position to say that.
Unless, instead of Monday morning quarterbacking it, here's the thing.
I didn't just offer criticisms.
I offered a guide on how to... Here's the deal.
I want to sit at the table with people who, granted, have an immense amount of power and have incredibly deep pockets.
That is all true, to be clear.
And by the way, it's something that I want to have.
On our side of the aisle.
But I offered a guide on how to do it.
It is incumbent, this is what this is about, it is incumbent upon conservatives, if we believe what we say, to uncouple, to divest, if you want to use that term, from big tech.
For the business models of the movement, as we move forward, to not rely on playing ball with Facebook And with YouTube.
That is something that we have to move toward.
You know that we've been trying to do that here for years.
That's why every single show we say, hey, if you can watch on Rumble, please do so.
We're not looking to be banned on YouTube, but we certainly won't compromise the truth in order to be advertiser friendly.
Here's the thing.
Here's the thing, Daily Wire, Jeremy, and I really do hope that we can talk at some point.
Please, you can pick up the phone.
We've done that.
We here have found a way to make that work.
For proof, see election night, our numbers on rumble there, and see the numbers on rumble
when we get suspended from YouTube.
I think it was four times this last year.
And I went to great lengths to communicate that to the people at Daily Wire.
That's being the arm of big tech.
What you just said is, well, we have to play ball with big tech if we want to make money.
Well, I don't.
Why don't you guys follow a model like I have and scale it?
That's what I've been doing since 2014.
You know that.
I've been trying to make sure, which I thought we were all doing, that we can all flip the bird to Silicon Valley.
This is saying we need him and you need to play ball.
And by the way, before some of you ask this, um, look, there's always personal information, uh, on, on phone calls.
And for the record, I've recorded three people on phone calls in my life.
All three are involved with big tech.
Just to be clear, the entire call transcript has been sent to others to verify without hopefully having to release the whole thing.
And I'll be on Tim Pool's show, I believe, on Monday to talk about it.
Now, this is something else that's been brought to my attention.
That, you know, look, some people have been sent out from Daily Wire and have gotten very, you know, very personal.
Obviously when we released this video we didn't name names and I told you there are a lot of people in the space who have made offers and it is true.
There are quite a few and there are some others that have been pretty similar to this.
This isn't an incredibly unique scenario but there have been some good people out there too and we're still talking with them.
So I do know that some people from Daily Wire have sort of come out, maybe been instructed to, I have no idea, I don't care, and they've gotten very personal.
I don't want to do that.
At least I didn't want to.
But now it's sort of necessary for me to do so.
So these are the only personal things I will say about the people at Daily Wire.
Andrew Klavan is one of my favorite people of all time.
He has an unbelievable skill to make you feel like the smartest guy in the room even though I guarantee you he's smarter than you.
There are very few people whose company I enjoy more than Andrew Klavan.
Jordan Peterson Is not only a friend, I would go to the wall for him.
He's a guy who has changed the landscape of our country for the better.
Can't say enough good things about him.
Ben Shapiro is possibly the smartest person I know.
That's as personal as I'll get.
Now, here's the thing.
Only after that final call, after negotiations had followed through, pleading on the side of principle and knowing that it was completely met with deaf ears, did I come out like I did.
See, here's the thing.
They keep talking about a business.
Well, I walked away from the table because I'm talking like it's about a country, about a movement.
And this is the thing.
The response that I've heard over the years, it's not just now.
I've been doing this for a long time.
You constantly hear, it's just business.
It's just business.
Well, guess what?
It's not to me.
Sure, I run a business, but it's not just business.
And let me ask you, when have you ever heard someone say it's just business when they're doing the right thing?
Ever hear someone give $250,000 to charity and say it's just business?
And here's something that I would like to ask you, because I know that they've tried to play the identity politics and, you know, misrepresent the whole financial situation.
But yeah, over the course of four or five years, the total operational budget, meaning 25, 30 employees, all of the costs, security, health insurance, would have been somewhere in the $50 million ballpark for that total operational budget.
That is true.
Okay.
First off, I think It's a good thing for conservative companies out there to be generating or capable of generating far more than that.
It'd be better than just Disney and just Netflix and just Hulu Plus and I'd like the people who are in charge of that to be people who are willing to walk away from that if it comes with strings attached.
With people who hate everything you stand for.
So, let's take that at face value.
Okay?
I want you to ask yourself this question.
Okay?
Put yourself in my shoes.
What would it take?
How much do your principles matter to you?
What kind of a headspace would you have to be in to walk away full stop from $50 million?
Let me ask you even further.
What would it take for you to be willing to walk away from at least $50 million because of it causing harm to someone else that doesn't even affect you?
But the next kid.
I've talked about this.
You know, you have it in comedy.
I'm never going to be the guy who pulls the ladder up after me.
What motivates me is not money.
Of course, everyone here likes nice things.
They want to make a living.
You've heard me say this many times.
I want to pass the torch.
I want there to be someone else to do this.
It can't happen if this is how our movement is structured.
And you know that, by the way, This could do irreparable damage to the movement, the country, and the people who've fought so hard for the ground gained if we've decided to get in bed with these people who want to strip it away.
I'm asking, would you walk away?
What would it take for you to walk away from $50 million?
Because it's true.
That's exactly what I did.
It's exactly what I'm doing.
And so long as these contracts out there include enforcement Of big tech.
Of punishing conservative creators on behalf of the people we claim to fight and the people who have long since demonetized us and can't stand me and part of me doesn't blame them!
As long as these contracts include that, not even for me, but the next person, I wouldn't take a billion dollars.
And certainly not if, you understand in context, when behind closed doors I know, and these people know and acknowledge, exactly what's
being done to the next generation of creators.
Bench talent, young talent, they don't get deals like this.
So, they don't get deals that...
They can be wage slaves for a little bit, come over and make a salary and grow their
brand.
That you then own?
Well, I own parts of it.
I don't own it.
They can, when they want to, they can.
This contract owns it in perpetuity even after the contract.
You're paying a lease but getting ownership.
go do a show somewhere else, they'll be in a far, far, far better place. You helped make them.
No, not long after this contract. This contract owns it in perpetuity even after the contract.
You're paying a lease but getting ownership. That's what this contract is.
On the content that we paid to produce, yes.
Look, I understand there are going to be differing opinions on this.
I understand that.
As someone who does run a business and has 20, I think maybe 25 employees, I don't know, we're expanding, I understand people run businesses differently and have different priorities.
Here's the thing, I would genuinely still, Daily Wire, Jeremy, love to sit down at the table and explain to you how you can make all of this work How you can scale what we do and not have to be beholden to the people who... We all go out and claim that we're fighting.
And especially with all of the financial resources.
that you have, which by the way are very impressive. And by the way, since fielding requests for people
who've sent this in, you guys are under these kinds of contracts, right, you've sent in your emails
if you're looking to either join a network or looking to navigate these contracts.
We've been flooded. I'm going to try and get to all of you, but here's the thing. Let me give you
my word right now. My word.
Everyone, you can timestamp it, call me on it.
Here at Mug Club, we will never take any ownership over your social media platforms or your channels, and I don't want a dime ever of your YouTube revenue.
You make your own decision as to whether you want to be monetized or not.
Some people want to, some people don't.
I just have a problem with requiring that you do, and penalizing you.
If you don't.
And to Daily Wire, to the rest of the people out there, give me a call and look, let me put it this way.
If you give me your word, this is all that matters here, just give me your word that there will never be a clause in a contract again for some unsuspecting kid or someone who doesn't have the luxury to walk away from $50 million, as I did.
True, guilty as charged.
Give me your word that you will not penalize them 25% for demonetization, another 20% for a strike, another 20% for Facebook, Spotify, Apple, up to 80%.
Just give me your word That that clause, that that spirit, will not be in any contract sent out to anyone else who's at the front lines fighting for this country.
And we're done.
All of this stops right now.
You will never hear from me again.
I will go out and sing your praises.
You can pick up the phone.
You have my word.
That's all it is.
That's all this is about.
In the interim, to everyone else, StopBigCon.com.
Be a signatory.
I'll see you Monday.
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