Spotify's relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has concluded, with the duo's reported $25 million deal with the audio streaming giant wrapping up last week. Amid the fallout, Bill Simmons, the founder of "The Ringer" and Spotify's podcast innovation and monetization lead, has raised eyebrows with his pointed critique of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Simmons did not mince words on his own podcast, casting the royal couple as "f***ing grifters" and suggesting that a podcast with them should have carried the same name. Simmons also insinuated the existence of an intriguing story involving a Zoom call with Prince Harry intended to assist with a podcast idea, joking that he needs to share the story someday when inebriated.
This isn't Simmons's first time expressing disapproval towards the Prince. On a previous podcast episode from January 2022, he branded the Invictus Games founder as a chronic complainer.
Simmons dismissed the prince, stating, "Shoot this guy to the sun... What does he bring to the table? He just whines about s**t and keeps giving interviews... You live in Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts, and nobody cares what you have to say unless you talk about the royal family, and you just complain about them."
The terminated contract between the Sussexes and Spotify was signed in January 2020, promising exclusive content from their Archewell Audio company for a whopping $20 million. Over the contract's lifespan, they managed to produce only one podcast series, "Archetypes." This 12-episode series featured high-profile guests like Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, Constance Wu, Mindy Kaling, and Trevor Noah.
With the contract termination confirmed by representatives from both Archewell Audio and Spotify last week, a new platform is reportedly on the horizon for the former "Suits" actress. A spokesperson from Meghan Markle's talent agency, WME, hinted that she will continue her podcasting journey elsewhere.
In a statement from the agency, it was noted, "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."
Spotify's foray into podcasting, which included contracts with Simmons and the Sussexes, followed the success of Joe Rogan's "The Joe Rogan Experiment." However, The Guardian reports that the company is facing financial difficulties after a £367 million loss last year.
Daniel Ek, Spotify's chief executive, acknowledged the company's mistakes in "overpaying and overinvesting" in their attempt to carve a niche in the podcasting arena. In a call with financial analysts, Ek emphasized a more cautious approach to future content deals, stating, "We're going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals."
Despite the sour ending, "Archetypes" achieved success, reaching number one on Spotify's international charts in multiple countries just two days after its August 2022 premiere. But anonymous sources suggest the contract termination resulted from an insufficient output from the Sussexes, implying they failed to fulfill their contractual obligations and may not receive the full agreed payment.
