Prince Harry and Meghan's $20 million deal with the streaming giant ends after they allegedly didn't make enough content to warrant being paid the sum originally agreed.
- Jun 16, 2023
AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle's "Archetypes" podcast is not being renewed by Spotify. Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, inked a $20 million deal with the streaming giant back in 2020, the same year they quit as senior members of the British Royal Family and became financially independent, however, they allegedly didn't make enough content to warrant being paid the sum originally agreed.
In a joint statement to The New York Post, Spotify and Archewell Audio said they "mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together". An Archewell Productions spokeswoman also added to The Wall Street Journal, "Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform."
It comes after the podcast's producer, Rebecca Sananes, left her role. The likes of Mariah Carey, Serena Williams and Paris Hilton were guests. It was recently revealed that Meghan had signed a deal with huge talent agency WME.
The former "Suits" actress will be working with the company, who represent the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Rihanna, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, and Serena Williams, to "build out her business ventures" in a range of areas.
The company announced in a statement shared on Instagram, "We are honoured to announce that WME now represents Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in all areas. The agency will be focusing on building out her business ventures across multiple facets of the agency and its broader ecosystem, including film and television production, brand partnerships, and more."
According to Variety, WME will also take on representation of Meghan and her husband Prince Harry's content creation under their Archewell company. But the outlet stressed that, "Acting will not be an area of focus."
It is believed a number of talent agencies had been pitching to represent the duchess since she and her spouse stepped back from senior royal duties to start their new life in her native California. Archewell also has a deal with Netflix, which is home to the couple's "Harry & Meghan" docuseries.
The 41-year-old duchess - who has Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two with Harry - previously revealed she is keen to make romantic comedies through her production company. She told Variety last year, "So much of how my husband and I see things is through our love story. For scripted, we want to think about how we can evolve from that same space and do something fun. It doesn't always have to be so serious. Like a good rom-com. Don't we miss them? I miss them so much."
