LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle blame the coronavirus pandemic, the late Prince Philip's illness, and Queen Elizabeth II's death — everything but themselves — for the breakdown of their $20 million contract with Spotify and their teetering $100 million Netflix collaboration.
The rebellious royals have quietly complained that the death of Queen Elizabeth II — Harry's grandmother and Britain's longest-serving monarch — overshadowed the premiere of Meghan's 'Archetypes' podcast last year in September.
They also claim that popular compassion for the Duke of Edinburgh, who was in deteriorating health and died weeks later, diluted the impact of their spectacular March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused the royal family of bigotry.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's $20 million, multi-year arrangement to produce podcasts with Spotify came to an end after just 12 episodes, according to the platform's head of podcast innovation and monetization, who called them "grifters."
Bill Simmons, who founded the Ringer podcast network and later sold it to Spotify for $196 million in 2020, criticized Harry and Meghan on his own podcast after learning that the Sussexes' audio production company, Archewell, had severed ties with Spotify, as reported by The Guardian.
Top Spotify exec criticizes Harry and Meghan for being 'lazy'
Simmons also gained a leadership position at Spotify as part of the deal. In 2020, the pair agreed to a $20 million contract with Spotify. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's complaints about their misfortune came only a few weeks after a top Spotify executive criticized them for being "lazy."
Apparently, several people lost their jobs as a result of the money used to fund Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's failed Spotify agreement. Rebecca English, the royal editor for the Daily Mail, discussed the criticism of how the end of the royal couple's Spotify arrangement affected several jobs and individuals on 'Palace Confidential'.
'There was a flurry to sign massive names'
English said, "Part of this problem with Harry and Meghan is a problem with the entire podcast industry. There was a flurry to sign massive names and throw big money at them without actually knowing if they had an idea which was workable." In December 2020, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 41, signed a contract with the audio behemoth that is thought to be worth a stunning $20 million. Due to the money lost in the purchase, the streaming juggernaut is currently letting go of a sizable number of employees, as reported by New York Post.
