Times are getting murkier for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! The royal couple has gotten into hot water with the royal family several times since they stepped down from their royal duties. After leaving the U.K., Harry and Meghan shifted their bases to the U.S. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship with the royal family started to debilitate them when they appeared in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
But Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not stop there. They signed a $100 million deal with Netflix and released their bombshell docuseries, ‘Harry & Meghan,’ where they revealed intimate and inside details of their lives, including some explosive confessions about the royal family. The couple created other streams of income as they lost all privileges to the Royal Grant after they left the family. Along with Netflix, they signed a multi-year partnership deal with Spotify. Now, amidst the already-handled wealth, the music streaming platform has ended the partnership after three years.
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Spotify Reportedly Claims That Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Did Not Provide Enough Content
In 2020, after signing the multi-million-dollar Netflix deal, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle found a home for their audio venture, Archewell Audio, at Spotify. The music platform and the couple signed a reported $20 million multi-year deal. The deal proved profitable for both parties. In 2022, Meghan Markle’s podcast, ‘Archetypes,’ became the most-listened-to podcast, beating Joe Rogan’s ‘The Joe Rogan Experience.’
Meghan Markle has so far released only one series on the ‘Archetypes’ podcast. It is a series to decode societal stereotypes about women from different walks of life. Now, Spotify and Archewell Audio has released a joint statement, saying,“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
Different sources have cited different reasons for the sudden cancellation of the deal. One of the sources claims that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to look for a new destination for their ‘Archewell Audio’ projects. Another source claims that Spotify has wanted the couple to produce more content since they signed the deal almost three years ago.
In Case You Missed: “Nothing Left To Say”: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Will Refrain From Tarnishing Royal Family’s Image After Doing All The Damage
The Couple Costed The Company 200 Of Its Staff
When Spotify struck the deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2022, the company hired more employees for the production team. However, the streaming platform is facing huge losses, so since January 2023, they have started laying off employees in the company.
Spotify laid off 6,600 of their workers, and they recently reduced 2% of their workforce. It is reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s $20 million deal could not attract financial profit for the company.
Sahar Elhabashi, the head of Spotify’s podcast business, expressed discontent over laying off the workers. Sahar wrote, “We have made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment of our group and reduce our global podcast vertical and other functions by approximately 200 people, or 2% of Spotify’s workforce.”
He continued,“Unfortunately, this means saying goodbye to close colleagues and friends. We know news like this is never easy, especially for those impacted. These decisions are not something we take lightly. I want to express my appreciation for everything those leaving have done for podcasting and Spotify.”
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