The decline of Meghan Markle’s podcast continues.
United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer admitted he was not surprised by Spotify’s breakup with Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 41.
“It turned out that Meghan Markle was not an amazing audio talent or necessarily any talent” – Zimmer Semaphore said throughout the Cannes Lions promoting festival.
“And you realize, being famous doesn’t make you excellent at something.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a deal with the audio giant in December 2020, valued at an estimated $20 million.
In a joint statement, they told The Post that they “mutually agreed to part ways and are pleased with the series now we have created together.”
Spotify and Harry and Markle’s Archewell production company spectacularly ended their partnership last month after the pair released just one podcast series called “Archetypes”.
A source previously told The Post that the media company Archewell founded by Harry and Meghan didn’t produce enough content to receive a full payout from the $20 million deal they agreed in 2020.
These remarks by Zimmer, whose business is essentially focused on audio platforms, show a shift within the podcasting industry, with star hosts and big-budget podcasters in exile, while personalities like those in radio or talk shows are on the forefront of the rise.
The comments come shortly after a royal expert said Spotify executives were likely “appalled” by comments Prince Harry made to Oprah Winfrey after he signed a multimillion-dollar deal with the corporate.
Speaking of Spotify i separate contract with Netflix during a gathering with Winfrey, Harry downplayed their importance, saying that they were “never a part of the plan”.
“It was suggested by another person when my family literally cut me off financially and I had to maintain us secure,” he added, implying he was forced to sign contracts out of desperation.
Through the discussion on Secrets of the palaceEvery day Mail editor Richard Eden said Spotify executives were probably not impressed by the remarks.
“It takes an awful lot of labor [to produce a podcast]. It’s serious work, it’s planning,” Eden said. “You possibly can’t just show up and say, ‘Oh, what are we going to do today? “”
“It shows … you realize … I needed to hearken to these podcasts for the show so truthfully that I’m not surprised it’s coming to an end,” he added.
Sportswriter and podcaster Bill Simmons also criticized the pair after the deal broke, saying that he once met with Harry for podcast ideas and dubbed the pair “f–king grifters” on a recent episode of his own audio show.
Meanwhile, a report recently surfaced stating that Markle’s interviews for her “Archetypes” podcast weren’t conducted by her.
reported Podnews that among the interviews on the show were conducted by members of the Duchess’s staff – and the audio of her questioning voice was later recorded.
For the reason that royal couple signed a deal with Spotify 2.5 years ago, “Archetypes” – which premiered last August – was the one project to walk out of the deal with just 12 episodes.