agree and disagree
I think (in Joe’s head) he always saw himself as the “creator” of the podcast, not his friends.
businesses have employees. Employees have paid roles. If (and I don’t know if this is correct or not) Mal and Rory signed contracts to Joe and were getting paid, then he is entirely correct from a business standpoint. No one can go to their boss and say “let me see the splits” and have a reasonable conversation. If Rory and Mal signed employment agreements with Joe (the same as Ian) to work for him, then
The funny thing is, you know where you’ve been. If you know you’ve never talked to Spotify, if you know you’ve never been privy to YouTube conversations, etc. and Joe is the one doing the heavy lifting as far as negotiations, why would you expect him to owe you a report? It seems like they were completely naive (at 30 and 39

) to how business is done.
If you want equity, make sure you don’t sign an employment contract
As a friend though, Joe is a scumbag.