Harry and Meghan are fighting to keep their £18 million podcast deal after failing to generate any content this year, which has mystified Spotify executives. The couple has been under pressure to follow up their lone 35-minute Christmas special from last December, which was the only episode of their multi-year deal.
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Last year, Spotify stated that it would be releasing content from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in full throughout 2021. However, the couple has only released one event for which the streaming platform has paid the pair £500,000 per minute thus far.
Spotify disappointed
While the couple signed to be a part of the Spotify deal, they have not produced any content. What is more disappointing for Spotify is that the two have been very active on all other platforms. Harry has featured on several other podcasts, including Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert in May, where he claimed that his life was similar to Jim Carrey's film The Truman Show.
They also made time to sit down for their explosive Oprah interview in March, while the Duchess of Cambridge pulled pranks on Ellen DeGeneres earlier this month. Spotify executives have allegedly given the couple's Archewell Audio label a ‘gentle nudge’ to finish the content and secure the multimillion-pound deal's future. A source said:
Spotify were delighted when they signed the couple, but the lack of content has mystified them. Particularly as they seem to have no problem producing content for other platforms.
Angela Levin, Harry’s biographer believes that the couple wants to do too many things at once and that is troubling.
Liable to deliver content
According to legal experts, Harry and Meghan must adhere to any deadlines outlined in their contract, which is being kept secret. Neil Williamson, a commercial contract lawyer at EM Law, said,
If the contract says that they must deliver content in 2021 then they will need to do so.
According to Alex Cook, a partner at Helix Law, speciality litigation practice of solicitors:
It might be considered embarrassing for Harry, Megan and Spotify equally to air any dispute publicly and it wouldn’t be surprising if there are private commercial arbitration clauses to manage any disputes between them all.
While Archewell Audio has not yet commented on it, Spotify said:
Big things are coming. Stay tuned.
