Spotify CEO calls Harry and Meghan ‘grifters’
An executive at Spotify called Prince Harry and Megan “grifters” the day after news broke that the couple’s “Archetypes” podcast would no longer be on the streaming platform.
Bill Simmons, head of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify, made the remarks during the latest episode of his own podcast, “The Ringer.”
He and guest Joe House were discussing NBA trade deals when, about 19 minutes later, House began to segue into a question by describing Simmons as a person who “does a lot of business deals, a lot of negotiations”.
“I do? I wish I had been involved in the Meghan-and-Harry-leave-Spotify negotiation,” Simmons replied. “The f—ing grifters — that’s the podcast we should have launched with them. “
“Archetypes” premiered last August and was an instant success, topping the Spotify charts in seven countries, including Canada, and winning the Best Podcast award at last year’s People’s Choice awards.
Spotify and Archewell Audio, the production company founded by Harry and Meghan, said in a joint statement Friday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to part ways with Spotify was a mutual one.
On the June 16 episode of his podcast, Simmons went on to say that he had to “get drunk one night and tell the story of this Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea.”
“It’s one of my best stories,” he said.
The “Archetypes” podcast was hosted by Meghan and featured guests including Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, and Serena Williams. It’s unclear why the podcast was pulled from Spotify, or if it could continue elsewhere, but the news comes amid a layoff of 200 Spotify employees.
Archewell Audio signed a multi-year deal to create podcasts for Spotify in 2020. The “Archetypes” podcast was the only project the production company had launched for Spotify to date.
Following the split with Spotify, the Duke and Duchess will now not receive the full $20 million payout from the Spotify deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.
