Spotify confirmed it was not renewing Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, for a second series.
The contract was estimated to be worth $25m (£18m) in late 2020. The podcast deal was one of the major commercial agreements the couple entered into after quitting royal duties and relocating to the US in 2020.
When it was announced in late 2020, the prince said it would “bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before”. Archetypes saw Meghan speak to high-profile figures like Serena Williams and Mariah Carey about stereotypes levelled against women.
When the agreement with Spotify was first announced, it was billed as a relationship which would produce several series - but in the end, only one materialised.
American media reports suggest the royal couple failed to meet the productivity benchmark required by Spotify, and therefore wouldn’t be receiving the full value of the contract.
It follows Spotify’s announcement last week that it was cutting 200 jobs in its podcast division after a period of heavy investment in the medium, saying it was embarking on a “strategic realignment”.
United Talent Agency (UTA) chief executive Jeremy Zimmer made the comments about Meghan during a discussion on podcasting at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France, according to a report by the Semafor news website.
“Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent,” Mr Zimmer was quoted as saying by Semafor. “And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”
Meghan Markle has been advised she has “no future” working alongside Prince Harry and needs to do it alone to “save her career”, an insider has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex suffered a huge loss last month after their lucrative Spotify deal came to an end after just one season of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast.
After being dumped from the digital music streaming giant, speculation has grown over what the couple will do for their next project with an insider claiming that Meghan’s team have told her to go solo, the Express reports.
Meghan has signed a new deal with celebrity management guru Ari Emanuel at WME, reportedly without Harry included. She is said to be searching for commercial endorsements in areas such as food, wellness and fashion.
The move leaves the path clear for Harry to return to his own passions and charity work, with the prince rumoured to be ready to go solo on a trip to Africa for a documentary, a journey to match his mum, Princess Diana.
Harry is rarely seen in the celeb circles that his wife has been accustomed to. Instead, he socialises with a group of polo-playing pals at the Los Padres team in Santa Barbara.
Gosh, does this mean a married couple will actually be doing different jobs and have different skills and interests?!
Well, hold the front page! - what a unique situation!
Loads of married people leave their families for periods of time to go abroad to work on projects - nothing that unusual about that.
As for whether Meghan and Harry have much in common, I have no idea - I have no intimate acquaintance with them.
I think certain media outlets like to keep stirring the pot and keep the speculation going though
