Meghan Markle Returns To Podcasting—After Her $20 Million Spotify Deal Fell Through – Forbes
Meghan Markle will launch her new podcast focused on women in business on April 8, more than two years after her short-lived, $20 million deal with Spotify resulted in just 12 episodes of her “Archetypes” podcast and eventually led to a tense breakup with the streaming platform.Meghan Markle will return to podcasting in April with “Confessions of a Female Founder.” (Photo by … [+] Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic)Markle will launch her new podcast in partnership with Lemonada Media, the company that also backs shows hosted by actresses Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Jennette McCurdy and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julian Castro.Markle announced the show, “Confessions of a Female Founder,” in a post on Instagram Thursday, saying she will speak with women in business about their successes and failures.She said she will ask founders for advice as she launches her own lifestyle brand, As ever, which she announced in partnership with Netflix earlier this month as her lifestyle series, “With Love, Meghan” premiered on the platform.The first episode of Markle’s new podcast launches April 8.Markle released 12 episodes of “Archetypes,” a podcast on which she interviewed women about stereotypes they face, between August and November 2022 after she struck a deal reportedly worth $20 million with Spotify. But Spotify and Markle confirmed in a statement months later that “Archetypes” would not return for a second season, which they said was a mutual decision. The Wall Street Journal reported there was tension behind the scenes, as Spotify executives reportedly became frustrated at how long it took Markle to conceptualize her podcast and assemble a team, and that she would allegedly ask for changes late in the editing process. Prince Harry also never landed on an idea for his own podcast, the Journal reported. Spotify executive Bill Simmons later slammed Markle and Harry as “grifters” on his own podcast. “‘The Fucking Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them,” Simmons said, adding: “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 … F— them.” Markle and Harry did not meet the “productivity benchmarks” required to get the full payout, the Journal reported, though it’s unclear exactly how much they made.Markle’s podcasting venture comes on the heels of her new Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan,” a lifestyle show she hosts at her California home. All eight episodes of the series premiered last week, featuring celebrity guests like Mindy Kaling and her former “Suits” co-star, Abigail Spencer. The series landed at No. 10 on Netflix’s television show chart after its first week, both globally and in the United States. But critics—particularly those in the British press— torched the show, which has a 35% score on Rotten Tomatoes. U.K. outlets The Independent and The Guardian both gave the show a rating of one star out of five, with The Guardian calling it “gormless lifestyle filler” and the “third consecutive disappointment” for Markle and Prince Harry, referring to their previous poorly received shows made for Netflix. “With Love, Meghan” was renewed last week for a second season.Markle and Harry, who stepped back from their royal duties in 2020, citing tensions within the family and bullying by the British press, have pivoted to various media ventures since moving to the United States to varying degrees of success. The royal couple scored a deal with Netflix reportedly worth $100 million, as part of which they made “Harry & Meghan,” a docuseries that was met with lukewarm reviews but had Netflix’s biggest-ever debut for a documentary. They also produced the series “Live to Lead,” “Heart of Invictus” and “Polo,” none of which made the top 10 of Netflix’s weekly viewership charts. Harry also released a memoir, “Spare,” in 2023, which shattered sales records, selling more than 1.4 million copies on its first day, but was met with mixed reviews from critics, according to book review aggregator Book Marks.Meghan Markle’s ‘With Love, Meghan’ Roasted By Critics—The Royal Couple’s Latest Media Venture Struggle (Forbes)One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:So, how can you be a power user?Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
