Joe Budden, the widely followed independent podcaster and cultural commentator, is launching his first foray into true-crime storytelling.
Budden, host of “The Joe Budden Podcast,” is gearing up for the debut of “Crime in America,” in partnership with Wolf Entertainment — producer of TV franchises including “Law & Order” and the “One Chicago” series on NBC — and news publisher Advance Local and its Headline Studio.
The Budden-hosted weekly true-crime video podcast is slated to premiere Tuesday, Aug. 11 across all major podcast platforms. “Crime in America” is the first series from Prime Crime Productions, the new crime and news venture set up by Budden and longtime business partner Ian Schwartzman.
“Crime in America” pairs Budden’s personal interest in true-crime stories with Wolf Entertainment’s “long-standing credibility in crime storytelling” and Advance Local/Headline Studio’s national network of journalists, the companies said.
Each episode will spotlight a case that is developing or beginning to break nationally. The format allows the series to surface local cases early, follow developments week-to-week and revisit stories as they evolve. Budden will be joined by Advance Local journalists to delve into what happened, why it matters and where the story may go next.
Budden said that with “Crime in America,” he and Schwartzman “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. Wolf Entertainment and Headline Studio were natural partners because they share our vision for finding innovative new ways to tell stories and reach audiences.”
Elliot Wolf, EVP of digital for Wolf Entertainment, said: “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. With ‘Crime in America,’ we are creating a new approach to a weekly series that puts listeners on the front line of stories as they break.”
Headline Studio president Richard Diamond added, “What makes this partnership unique is the combination of national reach and local reporting. Through Advance Local’s network of news organizations and journalists embedded in communities across the country, ‘Crime in America’ can bring audiences closer to stories as they unfold, grounded in original reporting, trusted sourcing, and deep local knowledge. It’s an opportunity to showcase the critical role journalism plays in helping people understand the issues affecting their communities.”
Budden is an Grammy-nominated artist, entrepreneur and podcaster. After first rising to prominence as a recording artist, Budden moved into the media realm, building “The Joe Budden Podcast” into the flagship of the Joe Budden Network and attracting an engaged audience across audio, video and Patreon. Earlier this year, Patreon said some of the top podcasters on its platform, including Budden, earn as much as $1 million per month or more.