MEGHAN Markle’s Archetypes podcast has been dumped by Spotify – with her and Prince Harry potentially losing out on an £18 million payout.
The axing was confirmed in a joint statement from Archewell Audio, the couple’s content creation label, and the streaming giant.
It read: “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
It means there will be no second series of Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022.
In the show, the Duchess discussed the history of stereotypes levelled against women with guests like tennis ace Serena Williams and singer Mariah Carey.
Historians and experts also appeared on Archetypes, which won top podcast award at the People’s Choice Award in Los Angeles in December.
Harry and Meghan could now lose out on an whopping £18 million payday they agreed with Spotify when they signed the contract in 2020.
Royal experts have warned the end of the Spotify deal suggests the couple’s empire is “crumbling” and future projects are bound to fail.
Angela Levin has claimed future projects between the couple will be “a disaster” and told Sun Online: “Their value isn’t as high as it once was.”
Meghan’s talent agency WME – who signed her on in April– said the team behind Archetypes“remain proud” of the podcast they created at Spotify.
But they added: “Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”
Archewell are reportedly in ongoing discussions to get their content on other providers’ services, a person close to discussions told the Wall Street Journal.
On Archetype’s launch, Meghan wrote on the couple’s Archewell website: “I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them.”
It comes as The Sun revealed Harry and Meghan will stop making royal-bashing Netflix shows and tell-all books.
The couple’s simmering attacks on the royals in their bombshell March 2021 interview with pal Oprah Winfrey was followed by badly-received Netflix series Harry & Meghan.
It also led to them being slammed on cartoon satire South Park.
But an insider told The Sun: “That period of their life is over — as there is nothing left to say.”
The Sussexes will now only feature behind Netflix cameras as part of their eye-watering £88 million deal with the streaming giant.
They have showed an interest in making “fun” flicks including romcoms for Netflix.
And this new content will have a “heavy focus on fictional scripted content”, a source told The Daily Telegraph.
A pal of the California-based duo added: “They’ve had enough of being in the spotlight for now.”
Only last year, Meghan had her upcoming animated series Pearlchucked out by Netflix.
She had been working on it with Elton John’s producer husband David Furnish but the show was canned as part of cutbacks amid a collapse in Netflix subscribers.
WAD ARE THEY WORTH?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are thought to have earned hundreds of millions of dollars since quitting the Royal Family. Among the pay cheques are:
- £88m Netflix deal
- £18 million dollar Spotify podcast – now canned
- £16 million advance for Prince Harry’s memoir Spare
- £13 million raised by Archewell
- £2 million-a-year from The King
- £750,000 per speech
Total: ~£137.8 million