Meghan and Harry’s Spotify debacle could mean the end of Hollywood megadeals
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Spotify debacle might mean an end to the era of megadeals in Tinseltown, according to a new LA Times report.
“I do think these deals are going to be fewer and farther apart because there’s a lot of belt-tightening right now,” Susanne Daniels, formerly YouTube’s global head of original content, told the outlet.
This comes directly after Harry, 38, and Markle, 41, had their $20 million deal with Spotify end. The couple produced only one show with a measly 12 episodes, causing Spotify executive Bill Simmons to call them “f–king grifters.”
A source told The Post that the couple’s Archewell Productions didn’t release enough content to get the full payout from that deal.
Taylor Swift reportedly rejected an invitation to appear on Markle’s podcast, called “Archetypes.”
Harry previously implied in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he signed the deal out of desperation.
“That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us,” he said.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden said Spotify execs were likely “horrified” by how Harry characterized this.
Another report claimed that Markle didn’t even do her own interviews for her podcast, and her voice was added in later.
The royal couple will still continue their Netflix deal — as long as they produce content. They reportedly signed a $100 million deal with Netflix in 2020.
But that could be on shaky grounds, too.
On Monday, an insider alleged to the Sun that the couple “have been paid only half” of their Netflix money and “they will get the rest only if they produce content of real interest.”
Their docuseries “Harry & Meghan” was a ratings hit, and the platform touted it as their “most viewed documentary ever.” But the couple have yet to do much else, although they have a series about the Invictus Games coming out on an unspecified date this summer.
In contrast, Ryan Murphy also had a megadeal with Netflix — rumored for $300 million — and the prolific showrunner has put out a wide variety of series, including “The Politician,” “Hollywood,” “The Prom” and megahits “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “The Watcher.”
The royal couple’s crash and burn with Spotify also caused United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer to say, “Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent … Just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”
The Post has reached out to the Sussexes’ reps for comment.
