Duchess Meghan’s Spotify podcast “Archetypes” fell short of expectations. Now 200 positions in the podcast segment are being cut. Several media think they recognize a causality. But can that be? An analysis.
These are blatant allegations being made by some media outlets. They all revolve around the announcement by the streaming provider Spotify and its announcement that it intends to lay off hundreds of employees in the podcast segment.
In the reports from the USA, Great Britain and Switzerland, Duchess Meghan is blamed for this. For example, MSN says: “Meghan Markle’s £15m podcast isn’t paying off for Spotify – 200 more jobs will be cut.”
The Swiss site “Nau” headlines online: “The podcast ‘Archetypes’ by Meghan Markle did not go as well as expected. Spotify will have to compensate for this – and is laying off 200 employees”. The US magazine “Holr” formulates: “because the podcast did not generate enough revenue”.
The “New York Post” also gives Meghan some blame in an article and writes: “The cuts show that the company is not achieving the hoped-for results in the podcast area – despite billions of dollars in Markle and Joe Rogan’s podcasts pumped from his platform.”
What is surprising: It is different media from different parts of the world, not the British tabloid press, which has not only reported fairly to Meghan and Harry in the past. But can there be any truth to the allegations? An analysis.
Great expectations and criticism even before the first episode of “Archetypes”
As soon as the podcast was announced at the end of 2020, there were the first negative headlines, as “Insider” reports: At the same time, there was criticism from musicians that they did not receive fair payment from the streaming provider, while “big names” like Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan would get “lucrative contracts”.
The two were already criticized by some media at the time for even accepting such a high endowment. But the problems continued, fans waited and waited for the first episode. But she didn’t come. And Spotify felt compelled to act, as “Forbes” reported in January 2022. Internally, they were looking for more employees who should finally help Meghan “fulfill her contract”.
It wasn’t until August 2022, almost two years after the announcement, that the first episode was heard, then another every Tuesday. But in November it was over again. Only 12 episodes were released, which equates to a fee of more than £1 million per episode. On average it lasted an hour.
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Celebrity guests like Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Serena Williams initially made headlines. But after a few episodes, interest ebbed away massively. As the “Daily Mail” reports, the podcast crashed to number 77 on the US podcast charts in November. Certainly not what those responsible for Spotify had imagined.
Then in January 2023 the next setback (): Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff announced that she is leaving Spotify. But it was she who recruited Meghan and Harry.
It is not known if and when new episodes of “Archetypes” will appear. There is already speculation online about the end of the format, but so far there has been no official confirmation from Spotify.
However, it can be assumed that the investment of the equivalent of almost 18 million euros has not been refinanced with the twelve episodes. It has not yet been announced whether the specially assembled production team around “Archewell Audio” will also be affected by the cuts.
However, it must be said that Harry and Meghan are not the only celebrities who have landed lucrative contracts. The Obamas, Kim Kardashian West and comedian Joe Rogan also have Spotify podcasts. The latter has also received many scathing reviews, as “First Post” reports. “The Joe Rogan Experience” had to do with “several controversies”, “including the spread of misinformation about the Covid 19 vaccine”.
It is not known which was the less successful podcast or the greater disappointment for those responsible. But: the 15 million pounds would also have made several and cheaper podcast ideas possible – one of which might have been a top 3 format. However, Meghan can only be blamed to a limited extent, she did her job and delivered the consequences, as was probably contractually agreed. It is rather those responsible for Spotify who misjudged the public interest.
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Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
