Influencer
Independent Podcaster Joe Budden Launches True-Crime Podcast
Joe Budden, the independent podcaster behind “The Joe Budden Podcast” and the Joe Budden Network, is expanding into true crime with a new weekly video podcast called “Crime in America,” produced in partnership with Wolf Entertainment, Advance Local and its Headline Studio division.
As reported by Variety, the series premieres on August 11 across major podcast platforms. It is the first release from Prime Crime Productions, a crime and news venture Budden formed with longtime business partner Ian Schwartzman. Wolf Entertainment is the producer behind “Law & Order” and the “One Chicago” franchise on NBC; Advance Local is a news publisher whose Headline Studio division supplies the show’s reporting network.
Budden and Schwartzman financed and built the series independently rather than selling it to a platform or buyer. “We made the deliberate decision to finance and build the series ourselves rather than take it to a traditional buyer or platform, and that is something we are incredibly proud of,” Budden said in a statement. “Wolf Entertainment and Headline Studio were natural partners because they share our vision for finding innovative new ways to tell stories and reach audiences.”
Each episode will focus on a case breaking or developing nationally, with the format designed to surface local stories early and follow them week to week as they evolve. Budden will co-host episodes with Advance Local journalists.
Elliot Wolf, EVP of Digital for Wolf Entertainment, said the partnership pairs local reporting with a national platform: “Local journalists have always been the first to break the country’s most moving true crime stories, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Joe and Headline to give them a national platform.” Headline Studio President Richard Diamond said the show’s advantage is combining “national reach and local reporting” through Advance Local’s network of embedded journalists.
Budden built his flagship podcast into the center of the Joe Budden Network after starting his career as a Grammy-nominated recording artist.
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