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PoopBaloon, I apologize that I did not see your question before. Yes, we have representation at United Talent Agency

I would disagree that "most pods" get 50-50 or less (though I'm assuming you pay for production/editing/mixing; if Vox pays for all that, then 50-50 starting point makes sense), but for sure IP is critical - we've left money on the table to own IP outright, and i list it above as top noncash factor

In the end: the Pivot pods stayed put; Vox didn't have to guarantee any $; Swisher got a lengthy profile. Read the profile, or not, but don't get worked up over that big $ number (which is an estimate from the cohost, but btw doesn't seem THAT wild to me, depending on ad load and pub frequency)

There are a LOT of other terms that get negotiated that could turn you off from a new network (off the top of my head, things that haven't worked for us: treatment of IP, requirement that we approve 95%+ of sponsors, too rigid/rapid release schedule, limiting where people can listen to the pod)

So, this is absolutely a good deal for Vox, as they basically can't lose money. They'll only be paying out a percentage of real, actual ad dollars to Pivot, less some costs. That doesn't mean it's a "bad" deal for Pivot, though -

In terms of the ad split, I've seen offers from 50/50 to 80/20 (that is, 80% of ad sales to creator/ 20% to network), traded off against the size of the MRG. The 70/30 that Pivot took is pretty standard, and not particularly aggressive either way.

There can be a lot of detailed negotiation on what "counts" towards the MRG, but both sides want the podcast to be successful enough that it out-earns that number. Which is to say, you're always a little bit "betting on yourself," and the network wants you to have some added skin in the game.

The story suggests the Pivot cohosts are forgoing the MRG in order to bet on themselves - but an MRG is in fact a MINIMUM, i.e. "we're guaranteeing you at least $X, and under Y and Z conditions, you will make money above and beyond that."