Europe 1 / Photo credit: Albert Nieboer / Royal Press Europe / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP 16:17 pm, June 19, 2023

While last week, the magazine "Variety" announced the end of a multi-million dollar partnership between Spotify and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Bill Simmons, an official of the platform, even called them "scammers". But what happened between the couple and the streaming app?

Last week, the American media Variety announced the end of a $ 20 million contract between Spotify and Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle. And according to Bill Simmons, head of podcast innovation on the streaming platform, the couple would be solely responsible for the end of this collaboration. Very angry with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the man even called them "scammers". But what happened?

"Let them go and be seen, these crooks!"

To understand, we must go back to 2020: Harry and Meghan sign a partnership with Spotify, in order to broadcast the podcasts of their brand Archewell Audio. The couple then launched Archetypes, a program presented by Meghan Markle in which she exchanged with influential women, such as Mariah Carey, Serena Williams, Jameela Jamil or Paris Hilton. The twelve-episode series even broke audience records.

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But since then... Nothing. According to an anonymous source interviewed by Variety, it was the lack of content offered by the couple that convinced Spotify to stop its collaboration. And that deeply annoyed Bill Simmons, who addressed the couple via his own podcast. "I would have liked to have been involved in the negotiations for their departure from Spotify.' The damn scammers, that's the name of the podcast we should have launched with them," he said. "Let them go and be seen, these crooks!"

The couple are reportedly looking for a new platform

A new controversy for Harry and Meghan who left the British royal family in early 2020 to settle in California. The couple made a lot of headlines late last year, with the broadcast of their documentary series on Netflix, and the release of Prince Harry's memoir, entitled The Deputy, in which he openly attacked his family, including his brother William.

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Anyway, the end of their contract with Spotify does not seem to discourage Harry and Meghan who would look for a new platform to produce their programs.