The Combat Jack Show Thread

[a blinkin]

It's hard to speak definitively on what they contributed from a monetary/marketing/substantial standpoint, because all we have if Joe's version of events. We all know there's 3 sides to a story; your side my side and the truth.

I'm of the belief that the three of them played a part in getting the pod to where it is today because it was conversations happening among 3 friends (so to speak). It was barbershop talk in podcast format. Outside of his rants, Joe wasn't up there solo.

Now how that translates into the stake they deserve in the show itself, that's not for me to argue because I don't know the figures associated with what they bring in, or the contracts that were in place.

I think most people understand the business aspect of why Joe let them go; you're ******* up the money, letting your egos and emotions get the best of you, we got a show to run, etc. Most of the criticism I'm seeing is how he carried out said firing.

 

[tego calderon el abayarde]

Again I get that Joe is the easy target due to his past and he brought it on himself for habitual ******** but people aren't mentioning the fact that they tried to audit him.
That ain't nuts to y'all. That's accusing him of theft. There's no going back after that. I feel like he was ready to continue with them when they returned to the pod and he found out after that that they were trying to audit.
If only Ak didn't call Rory an employee, it would have been all good.

 

[dathbgboy]

Again I get that Joe is the easy target due to his past and he brought it on himself for habitual ******** but people aren't mentioning the fact that they tried to audit him.
That ain't nuts to y'all. That's accusing him of theft. There's no going back after that. I feel like he was ready to continue with them when they returned to the pod and he found out after that that they were trying to audit.
If only Ak didn't call Rory an employee, it would have been all good.

If you telling me we're in this together and not treating me like an employee but a person w/ equity and yet you don't divulge business info, I get why someone would audit; especially if they don't want to get screwed like people in the past.

 

[VARNELL HILL]

Exactly, it's not so much a "Black" thing, but if you aren't bringing anything to the table AND didn't put any money up, what equity should you be getting if I'm doing the majority of the work?

Them not wanting stuff of their own reminds me of the comments 50 made about Lloyd Banks, he liked rapping and really didn't care about the business side and wanting to build a brand of his own, which 50 claims he wanted them all to do.

Regardless, Joe is messy for airing what he considered to be his friends on the internet. You address it clean if you have to and leave it alone.

I think one key detail being glossed over here is that they did have an agreement in place: to split revenue AFTER expenses...and that's when questions about the books started.

If YOU have a similar deal in place...and you find out your splits are coming after "70K in Miscellaneous fees"...you not gonna start asking questions?

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Did they try to audit him before or after all his disrespect? Because that's the problem at the end of the day. Joe wants to pick and choose when they're his friends and when they're his workers. If you taking this all business. "I don't have time for feelings" approach, ok let's see the business.

 

[sneakaprince]

In your example Joe is the only one wearing all 3 hats tho He has the most money, the largest social media following, and has had a podcast before that term was even coined.

He tried to get them to build their brands (Mal separate dating/sports/fashion pods; Rory - Barstool opportunity/YT channel), they refused.

It’d be very hard for me to give dudes like that any equity. Instead I give you a big salary (allegedly) and now you wanna audit me?

I had to think about this a bit more last night after posting. While I agree Joe has always been one of the draws for the that show, he didn't do it alone. Working for free is working for free. Hell scheduling your life around recording a podcast can be a challenge. Let's not discount the effort of Rory and Mal because they weren't previously famous rappers.

Joe was always going to be the draw, he made Pump it Up. Mal barely even acknowledged who his brothers are early in the show but once it was revealed that cat was outta the bag. It wasn't going to bring in an audience off that alone but it did give some of his takes/ stories some degree of authentication.


I will say this when everyone podded for free (maybe Joe paid for engineering because he was the most up financially) there was still some room to negotiate let's say a 60/40 split between joe and other contributers.

Once Joe began paying people outta his pocket (which seems to be the case post Spotify) those other dudes then became employees.

One thing any real boss will tell you is that the bosses eat losses 1st. Yeah they win bigger when things are up but when things are down they lose the most.

I come from a family of entrepreneurs, I can't tell you how many times I've seen my family go right into their personal savings to ensure people are paid on time. In the moment that **** sucks but making sure the people that work for you are solid is always the better move.

Once Rory and Mal expected to continue being paid post Spotify or whatever the deal was they lost the right to say they are owners imo. However, it does look like Joe may have intentionally shielded them from some of those loses in regards to the JBP I'm curious why they didn't fight harder for their equity earlier.

I definitely feel that 1000%. I franchised an insurance company and paid 25k out of pocket as a down payment.
My business partner didn't bring a dime to the table, but we break bread cause we work well together and both have tools that equal success.
But in this case, what did Rory and Mal bring to the table?
Joe did everything. At this point, the only thing I can say is that they were tenured employees.
They were eating from showing up 2 days out of the week. They got too big for their britches and lost an easy bag.
Sometimes, it's best to just keep your mouth shut and play your part.

Props to you brother and congrats on your success in your business man. I love seeing the fam (NT fam that is) win, even that ***** Ben Baller lol.

Rory and Mal brought themseleves, their ideas, their perspectives to the table. Yes it's going to be dwarfed by Joe who was already a star but let's not act like these dudes didn't put in sweat equity at a minimum.

I see a lot of comments downplaying Mal saying he been too cool to discuss **** etc but I also know a ton of people who listen to the pod specifically for Mal. Mal is also really good with fan engagement. I'm surprised he hasn't really said much in the last 24 hours but usually dude is still on Twitter, still on the gram etc. He moves like an everyday dude despite their massive following. Fans eat that **** up.

Not discounting Joe, he been on the internet since 02. I remember the mouse forums homie been around so I won't ever take that from him, but Mal and Rory did what they could considering where they started.


I have seen alot of people say well they should've listened to Joe and got something else popping on their own. That's fair but **** they clearly thought this was their product too so they probably were thinking, what for?

 

[Magic33]

I think one key detail being glossed over here is that they did have an agreement in place: to split revenue AFTER expenses...and that's when questions about the books started.

If YOU have a similar deal in place...and you find out your splits are coming after "70K in Miscellaneous fees"...you not gonna start asking questions?

Joe commented on that. Then he began to question how much people were getting paid.

That looks funny.

 

[Mark Antony]

There's no benefit to making employees falsely feel like they have equity and continue to play that up, both sides just felt the consequences of that.

 

[1stwitit]

Another thing that I just thought of, Joe has put his network in jeopardy. That was a bad move dropping that podcast.

 

[Mark Antony]

I definitely feel that 1000%. I franchised an insurance company and paid 25k out of pocket as a down payment.
My business partner didn't bring a dime to the table, but we break bread cause we work well together and both have tools that equal success.
But in this case, what did Rory and Mal bring to the table?
Joe did everything. At this point, the only thing I can say is that they were tenured employees.
They were eating from showing up 2 days out of the week. They got too big for their britches and lost an easy bag.
Sometimes, it's best to just keep your mouth shut and play your part.

Way Joe was talking sounds like they were eating eating too for some regular folks, gotta be at least 300k a year to sit and talk a couple days, could've been more if they were into it.

 

[s0lefunk]

I don’t understand why Rory wanted an audit. And its not clear why Rory and Mal are on contract if no one else is and still getting paid “off the strength.” They all said money wasn’t the issue. And if you believe Joe, Rory never asked for a raise but did ask for equity. To which Joe said “no” which I’d understand why. We can debate on whether they were deserving of it.

I’m not sure what the financial statements would prove to show Rory is deserving of equity. Maybe revenue/listenership growth since he joined? What changes with equity if money/income isn’t the problem? Just more visibility in all offers coming to the table?

Drama and public antics aside, this is an interesting case study.

 

[sneakaprince]

There's no benefit to making employees falsely feel like they have equity and continue to play that up, both sides just felt the consequences of that.

This.

I can only speak from a fan perspective but until recently most people were under the assumption that Rory and Mal had at least some ownership in the show. Joe 1000% fed into that.

To turn around and be like "this my ****" was clearly a surprise to just about everyone except Joe, I guess parks and Ian.

Why would Joe sit next to these dudes, have all those ownership and equity talks on a public platform just to turn around and say that "none of that **** applies to this platform". He looks wild funny in the light.

 

[Mark Antony]

Another thing that I just thought of, Joe has put his network in jeopardy. That was a bad move dropping that podcast.

While they sit up there and coddle him about how good he's gotten at business.

 

[sneakaprince]

I don’t understand why Rory wanted an audit. And its not clear why Rory and Mal are on contract if no one else is and still getting paid “off the strength.” They all said money wasn’t the issue. And if you believe Joe, Rory never asked for a raise but did ask for equity. To which Joe said “no” which I’d understand why. We can debate on whether they were deserving of it.

I’m not sure what the financial statements would prove to show Rory is deserving of equity. Maybe revenue/listenership growth since he joined? What changes with equity if money/income isn’t the problem? Just more visibility in all offers coming to the table?

Drama and public antics aside, this is an interesting case study.

I'd only assume he wanted financials to ask for more money if no equity is to be given. As a major contributer he may have given up the fight for equity and just said **** it I'm only making 100k and this **** making millions, maybe I need more if I'm not gonna ever own a piece (obviously this is just a guess).


Like others have said asking for the audit when doing business with your friends can be nuclear.

 

[Magic33]

There's no benefit to making employees falsely feel like they have equity and continue to play that up, both sides just felt the consequences of that.

This.

I can only speak from a fan perspective but until recently most people were under the assumption that Rory and Mal had at least some ownership in the show. Joe 1000% fed into that.

To turn around and be like "this my ****" was clearly a surprise to just about everyone except Joe, I guess parks and Ian.

Why would Joe sit next to these dudes, have all those ownership and equity talks on a public platform just to turn around and say that "none of that **** applies to this platform". He looks wild funny in the light.

I don't think the fans cared either way, until Ak.

I think Ak and Charlamagne are the main ones who got that in both the fans heads and Rory and Mal's.

I listen to plenty of pods and don't care what their percentage is and if they have ownership or how much The Athletic, The Ringer or whoever pay them.

 

[Magic33]

While they sit up there and coddle him about how good he's gotten at business.

Not paying attention to their own. They had several opportunities when their leverage increased.

They sat up there and discussed the Gillie situation and Call Her Daddy(?) or whatever the name of the show is, and didn't think of solidifying things or clearing them up.

It was plain as day what it was. When Joe was talking about the deals and meetings HE was taking.

 

[sneakaprince]

I don't think the fans cared either way, until Ak.

I think Ak and Charlamagne are the main ones who got that in both the fans heads and Rory and Mal's.

I listen to plenty of pods and don't care what their percentage is and if they have ownership or how much The Athletic, The Ringer or whoever pay them.

Ak definitely had a hand in this, but that's Joe's fault too. He kept letting Rory bark up that tree knowing Ak a whole millionaire and Rory a worker.

It's been said time and time again Joe is the cause of his own demise.

If Joe didn't do ES (which was good for Joe) there probably is no beef with Ak. Even after ES he could've told Rory and Mal to chill since Ak is his guy now and they broke bread together. He let them keep going at Ak knowing Ak prolly getting 10x their money.

 

[D StaXX]

How did the beef between Ak and Rory even start?

 

[Maximus Meridius]

 

[Magic33]

Ak definitely had a hand in this, but that's Joe's fault too. He kept letting Rory bark up that tree knowing Ak a whole millionaire and Rory a worker.

It's been said time and time again Joe is the cause of his own demise.

If Joe didn't do ES (which was good for Joe) there probably is no beef with Ak. Even after ES he could've told Rory and Mal to chill since Ak is his guy now and they broke bread together. He let them keep going at Ak knowing Ak prolly getting 10x their money.

Yeah, I think Joe should have squashed that, before it came to this

Maybe he underestimated how serious it was. Joe did mention he asked, and Rory said things are cool. So if your man is lying to you about his true feelings.

Did Rory expect Joe to follow Ak's rants? I wouldn't have known about them until people up here were talking about his attacks. Rory posting Ak's zip code? I didn't know how serious it was, I thought it was fake at first.

I just want to know what did Rory think he was doing. If Meek couldn't punk Ak, he thought his Kappa goons could do it? You lose either way. The only outcome is Ak to be scared, and stop mentioning you. Ak is corny, but he ain't that corny. He knows what you're built like. Make it public and what can you do?

I think everyone underestimated Ak.

 

[str8drop]

I'd only assume he wanted financials to ask for more money if no equity is to be given. As a major contributer he may have given up the fight for equity and just said **** it I'm only making 100k and this **** making millions, maybe I need more if I'm not gonna ever own a piece (obviously this is just a guess).


Like others have said asking for the audit when doing business with your friends can be nuclear.

I think Rory said they had a split based on profits after expenses.

Creative accounting can make them expenses look different tho

 

[Mark Antony]

No win situation with Ak, but I think Joe's being disingenuous like there's nothing he could do. He didn't want to because he was entertained and doesn't value Rory like that.

 

[Mark Antony]

I think Rory said they had a split based on profits after expenses.

Creative accounting can make them expenses look different tho

That's what makes it so confusing, like you can't just fire someone with some ownership stake no matter how small, the partnership has to dissolve.

 

[tego calderon el abayarde]

Yeah, I think Joe should have squashed that, before it came to this

Maybe he underestimated how serious it was. Joe did mention he asked, and Rory said things are cool. So if your man is lying to you about his true feelings.

Did Rory expect Joe to follow Ak's rants? I wouldn't have known about them until people up here were talking about his attacks. Rory posting Ak's zip code? I didn't know how serious it was, I thought it was fake at first.

I just want to know what did Rory think he was doing. If Meek couldn't punk Ak, he thought his Kappa goons could do it? You lose either way. The only outcome is Ak to be scared, and stop mentioning you. Ak is corny, but he ain't that corny. He knows what you're built like. Make it public and what can you do?

I think everyone underestimated Ak.

There's a bunch of Lils willing to do dirt on behalf of Ak for clout. Rory always had more to lose.

 

[HIM]

It's funny, I never liked Joe's music because he came off as corny then I started listening to his podcast and he was entertaining but now I'm reminded why I could never get into his music.

I came in to say the same thing. My cousin had been trying to put me onto the JBP for so long and Ialways told him joe was too lame.I started listening and I was surprised how funny it was. Then all this happened and I remembered Joe is a weirdo

Joe getting mad over the audit but he just had a rant the other day about how he had to bust into meetings he wasn’t supposed tonbe in, talk to people he wasn’t supposed to talk to at Complex and Spotify. And “thank god” he did that...now he’s mad that they have the gall to so it to him