What really went wrong with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Spotify deal

Spotify and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly came to a mutual decision. Photo / AP

The truth behind the collapse of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Spotify deal has been revealed.

Speaking to People magazine, sources close to the couple have revealed what went wrong before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost their eye-watering multi-million-dollar deal, claiming there was no “formal lay of the land”.

“They were given no formal lay of the land to kick things off, so they were already on unsteady footing even before the ink was dry,” the insider said, adding they “have a lot of ideas and did pitch them” but “things moved very slowly on both ends”.

The insider continued to say the couple were forced to deal with an overload of red tape since the signing of the deal - which is estimated to have been worth US$20 million ($41m) - in 2020.

Meghan's podcast series Archetypes features interviews with the likes of Trevor Noah, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling and Serena Williams. Photo / AP

It was announced in June that the Californian-based royals’ contract with the streaming giant was coming to a mutual end after they revealed they would not be renewing Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes.

At the time, the Daily Mail reported the decision to cancel the podcast came down to Spotify making big changes and revamping its output.

However, sources close to the audio giant have revealed that the royals didn’t meet the productivity requirements to receive the full payout, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Despite this, Meghan is still planning to produce more podcasts via a different platform.

WME, the talent agency that recently signed the Duchess of Sussex, told the Wall Street Journal: “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.”

A source claims there was no “formal lay of the land” when the couple signed the Spotify deal. Photo / AP

The Archetypes series featured interviews with the likes of tennis champion Serena Williams, popstar Mariah Carey and South African talk show host Trevor Noah.

Shortly after the cancellation of the podcast, Spotify executive and podcaster Bill Simmons slammed the couple on his own podcast, calling the royals “f***ing grifters”, according to Deadline.

Simmons, who still runs Spotify’s Ringer podcast and is head of podcast innovation and monetisation at the company, criticised the Montecito royals on his eponymous podcast.

“The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we should’ve launched with them,” he said. “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”

It’s not the first time Simmons has spoken out about the Sussexes. When the couple were still under contract with Spotify, last January, he slammed Harry, saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the same company.

“Shoot this guy to the sun,” said Simmons, according to the Big Lead. “I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about s*** and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a s***?

“Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favourite son … You live in f***ing 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 cancellation of the podcast comes after insiders revealed the Montecito royals were halting their attack on the royal family via tell-all Netflix documentaries, memoirs and sit-down interviews as they have “nothing left to say”.