In a stunning rant, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation has labelled Harry and Meghan “f****** grifters” after the news that the couple’s $20m podcast deal with the platform was ending after only 12 episodes.
Bill Simmons, who founded The Ringer – a podcast network bought by Spotify for $196m in 2020 in a deal that saw Simmons take on an executive role at the company – was scathing in his criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “The Fucking 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… Fuck them. The grifters.”
The tirade came after the announcement last week that the Sussexes’ company Archewell was no longer working with Spotify. The pair signed a multi-year deal with the streamer in 2020, but released only 12 episodes of Meghan’s The Archetypes podcast. Guests included Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah.
Spotify and Archewell Audio released a joint statement explaining they “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”.
Read More: Harry and Meghan split from Spotify | It’s not laziness, they’re just running out of things to say
The Wall Street Journal reported that Spotify sources said Harry and Meghan did not meet the productivity expected and demanded to receive the full payout. It’s not the first time Simmons has been critical of the Sussexes. In January 2022, he said: “You live in fucking 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.” Both Simmons and the Sussexes were signed by Spotify at a similar time, as the music streaming giant looked to move further into podcasting after the success of their Joe Rogan deal.
The Swedish company is now under pressure, however, after reporting a net loss of €430m (£367m) last year. Earlier this month, it announced that it would cut 200 jobs in its podcasting department.
Speaking to financial analysts on a conference call earlier in 2020, Chief Executive, Daniel Ek, admitted: “You’re right in calling out the overpaying and overinvesting.
“We’re going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals. And the ones that aren’t performing, obviously, we won’t renew. And the ones that are performing, we will obviously look at those on a case-by-case basis on the relative value.”
Bill Simmons, who founded The Ringer – a podcast network bought by Spotify for $196m in 2020 in a deal that saw Simmons take on an executive role at the company – was scathing in his criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “The Fucking 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… Fuck them. The grifters.”
Bill Simmons (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images the New Yorker)
Read More: Harry and Meghan split from Spotify | It’s not laziness, they’re just running out of things to say
The Wall Street Journal reported that Spotify sources said Harry and Meghan did not meet the productivity expected and demanded to receive the full payout. It’s not the first time Simmons has been critical of the Sussexes. In January 2022, he said: “You live in fucking 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.” Both Simmons and the Sussexes were signed by Spotify at a similar time, as the music streaming giant looked to move further into podcasting after the success of their Joe Rogan deal.
Spotify hosts The Joe Rogan Experience podcast
