The recent and sudden calling off of the Spotify deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has led to a lot of speculation and questions being raised.
But in the midst of all that, Spotify executive Bill Simmons has spoken out about what happened and his disapproval over the deal ending. Simmons who himself is a pretty well-known podcaster, criticised the couple and even called them “grifters” in a recent episode of his podcast.
Simmons spoke about how he wanted to be included in the negotiation discussions among other condemnations of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
What Did The Spotify Executive Say?
The Spotify executive in the Friday episode of his series called the Bill Simmons podcast said that “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. ‘The Fucking Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them.”
He further added “I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories … Fuck them. The grifters.”
The word grifter, for the unknown, means something along the lines of a con artist or fraudster and comes on the heels of the couple’s multi-year partnership with Spotify being terminated on Friday.
The deal ended after just 12 episodes were made for the Archetypes podcast, hosted by Meghan which was meant to “investigate, dissect and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,” while the Duchess conversed with known names like Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah.
However, even though the podcast topped the charts on Spotify in various regions, it was unable to bring in the required profits.
Read More: Best Desi Memes On The Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Oprah Interview
Simmons actually holds an important position at Spotify after the Swedish audio streaming platform bought out his company “The Ringer” a sports and culture site in 2020 for over $200 million.
Currently, he enjoys a leadership role at the company and is in charge of “podcast innovation and monetization” while still hosting several podcasts like “The Rewatchables.”
As per reports, Spotify had apparently paid more than $18 million to Meghan Markle for her ‘Archetypes’ podcast but found it was not able to bring in the profit expected from it. There has also been news of Spotify removing almost 200 positions but it is not clear whether that is something due to the unsuccessful deal or Spotify’s own layoffs.
Expert Richard Fitzwilliams also commented that the deal coming to an end was a “shocking failure” stating that “The idea was that several series would be produced. Since only one was, there’s no doubt the contract could be considered a failure. Clearly this relationship hasn’t been as mutually beneficial.”
Beyond just the Spotify deal ending, the couple has also let go of Netflix shows and tell-all memoirs reportedly due to them not having enough material and audience exhaustion.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: CNN, Livemint, Firstpost
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Prince Harry Meghan Markle spotify, spotify, Prince Harry Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, grifter, Prince Harry Meghan Markle grifter, Harry Meghan Markle netflix, Meghan Markle podcast, Meghan Markle podcast spotify, Meghan Markle podcast archetypes, Bill Simmons, Bill Simmons spotify, Bill Simmons spotify podcast
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
