Ouch: Harry and Meghan's $20 Million Media Deal Gets Axed
Spotify is ending its agreement with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry, after only one season of Meghan’s “Archetypes” podcast.
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” the companies said, according to Variety.
Archewell Audio is the company Harry and Meghan use for some of their media projects.
The decision to end the show, which discussed labels that hold women back, came after previous talks about a second season, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The podcast was the only content provided by the couple after they signed a $20 million deal with Spotify in 2020.
The Journal, quoting sources it did not identify, reported the company will not get that much out of the agreement because it did not meet productivity benchmarks.
“The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform,” a representative for Archewell Productions said.
According to Variety, which cited a source it did not name, the end of the agreement with Meghan and Harry was not related to restructuring at Spotify, which has seen the company lay off 200 people.
Archewell’s partnership with Spotify, a multi-year deal, was intended to comprise several programs but produced only one series and a holiday special, according to CNN.
Meghan recently has signed with talent agency WME, per multiple reports.
According to the Daily Wire, Netflix has canceled the production of “Pearl,” an animated series Meghan created. A Netflix series the couple developed called “The Heart of Invictus” has been on hold but still is expected to be released this year, Newsweek reported.
Harry and Meghan were not invited to this weekend’s celebration of the British monarch’s birthday in a ceremony known as “Trooping the Colour,” according to Fox News.
The annual event is happening this year for the first time during the reign of Harry’s father, King Charles III.
“Now that they are no longer working royals, neither Harry nor Meghan – nor Prince Andrew, for that matter – are welcome on the Buckingham Palace balcony,” royal biographer Christopher Andersen said.
“Harry isn’t about to show up just so he can be humiliated one more time. What’s the point of that?
“King Charles will surround himself with those people he feels he can trust and rely on to do the heavy lifting: Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, and, of course, the real stars of the show these days, Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children,” Andersen said.
He said Harry and Meghan will not be missed because there will be others to steal the show.
“I think there will be a lot of gasps when the kids step out and people see just how much Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis have grown,” Andersen said.
“By not even inviting the Sussexes to attend one of the most important events on the royal calendar – and, in this case, particularly important because it is to salute the new monarch – Charles has once again made it clear that he is not particularly eager to mend fences with his younger son.”
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