Spotify executive blasts Prince Harry, Meghan after podcast deal concludes

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's stint with Spotify concluded on a bitter note, with the royal pair earning the title of "grifters" by the streaming platform's senior executive Bill Simmons after they announced the end of their 12-episode podcast, Archetypes, last week. 

3 things you need to know:

• The Sussexes launched the 'Archetypes' podcast in 2020 through their production company Archewell Audio. 
• Topping several charts, the audio show was hosted by Markle.
• Spotify and Archewell Audio parted ways last week. 

Harry and Meghan: Royal grifters? 

Simmons, the founder of Ringer podcast network who sold his firm to Spotify for $196 million in 2020 and secured a top role at the streaming giant, branded the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a pair of "grifters". “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. ‘The F** Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them. 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 … F*** them. The grifters," he said on his own podcast. 

The spat between Simmons and Sussexes 

This isn't the first time that Simmons has spoken harshly of the royal duo. Last January, he admitted that he was frustrated for having to "share" Spotify with a royal known for blasting members of his own family. “You live in Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them," the executive said at the time. 

Parting ways 

Back in 2020, Prince Harry and his wife struck a deal with Spotify for a whopping $20 million. Three years later, with only 12 episodes out on their Archetypes podcast, the couple announced their exit from the platform as rumours of severed ties ran amok. 

Last week, their production company and Spotify rolled out a joint statement that revealed they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”. While the statement appeared cordial, sources close to Spotify claimed that the duo failed to meet the desired productivity levels of the platform.