Harry and Megan dubbed "fucking grifters" by Spotify exec and podcaster

[Qbish]

No great surprise there... Would love to hear his story about Zooming Prince Harry, I can only imagine his frustration with the whining ninny!

Leading Spotify figure lashes out at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after end of podcast deal | The Independent

The ignorant person was her dad who is 95 with a broken hip who was just chatting. I doubt he was putting it forward as a serious theory.

Indeed, @Gracewithoutend . Poor fella shouldn't really have been quoted.

The age is irrelevant, it's a terrible thing to repeat here and completely offensive. I do not care if he was 'just chatting', what he said was wrong and xenophobic.

I got a kick out of it. Reminded me of the Pentaverate scene in. “So Married an Axe Murderer.”

I do genuinely wonder what went wrong for the Sussexes, given the age issue that's been raised here. At the age Harry is now (he'll be 39 in September), their friends like Tyler Perry and Serena Williams were working their asses off with various ventures.

Is it a work ethic issue? Lack of focus? Lack of talent (ideas, skills)? Bad luck?

At 39 I had two small children, no help, and a full-on job. I certainly wasn't a 'young' anything and I couldn't afford to fail.

Oh move on. You might get to 95 one day and then you'll get given latitude too.

The Independent has it too.

And like the WSJ, there is no character assassination, the line is that inexperience and unlucky timing meant their output was below expectation, and that will have business consequences.

Also, I don't think comparison to the likes of Serena Williams or Tyler Perry at the same age are particularly fair. They both followed a single career. H&M both had previous careers/occupations and then a complete switch of field only 3 years ago, and the first half of that period was disrupted by pandemic restrictions

Don;t tell me what to do. The irony of you telling other posters to move on form a subject! The 95 year old isn't here, the poster should not have shared it.

If no one's allowed to tell anyone what to do, you can't tell her not to share it.

If you're not happy about it report it.

I think the Sussex's had their heads turned by talk of massive deals without really understanding the hard graft needed. They had no experience with any of this, and it shows. The shame is that they didn't buckle down, work hard, and renegotiate timelines if needed. This didn't need to end up the mess it is. If you're commanding millions and millions you do have to put the work in.

Th Sussex woes continue:

But when the deal fizzled last week, the leader of one of the biggest global talent agencies, whose business is increasingly focused on audio, said he wasn’t surprised.
“Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent,” United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer said over coffee at La Majestic during the Cannes Lions advertising festival. “And, you know, just because you're famous doesn't make you great at something.”

https://www.semafor.com/article/06/25/2023/hollywood-is-leaving-podcasting-to-podcasters

So long TW sticks to California. The state is sadly a lost case already.

I feel a bit sorry for her! She kept up her end of the deal. I didn’t like Archetypes but it wasn’t THAT bad. Her useless husband didn’t deliver anything at all.

I was just re-reading this. It gives quite a good summary of the podcast economy since March 2020.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-06-22/prince-harry-s-podcast-pitch-to-spotify-talk-to-putin-trump-about-childhoods

She delivered twelve episodes. For how many millions of $$$???!!!

The Archetypes podcast initially charted because of curiosity. Thereafter, nobody bothered listening again.

But, as a PP said, the thing I really can't forgive her for is not knowing the difference between an archetype and a stereotype. I think that gives us a bit of insight into her intelligence and willingness to do research...

@AutumnCrow I find the whole podcast economy over the pandemic very interesting and that article is a good read. As I said earlier, at least Meghan produced something even if it wasn't great. Harry seems to have just have some grandiose ideas. He probably would have been better off talking about what it's like to be a Brit in America. He could have kept that light and fluffy. He could even of chatted about his ancestors.

Covid was a strange old time. Looking back, work changed completely and everyone had to adapt. Some things were more successful than others. I don't really blame H&M for grabbing the cash. Wish someone had bunged me £20 million.

@Qbish I also find “arch” thing awkward. Naming your child, podcast, foundation and for profit this way does not seem like something a serious person would do. Maybe if they’d left poor Archie out of it.

I think covid really threw their plans badly.

No hobnobbing and getting to know people at events, no red carpets, no in-person networking, no momentum for new ventures

I would listen to the Brit living in America podcast. For example I find the topic of Thanksgiving sides very interesting. Did he eat something containing marshmallows ? Is cobbler better than crumble ?

Netflix and Spotify should be shouldering a lot of the blame for their Sussex deals not working out and there was clearly a corporate culture akin to banking where they chucked money at risky projects and hoped they made money. It will be suiting them just fine that they aren't coming under as much scrutiny.

I do agree with this.

I do wonder if they regret their actions - and if not their actions, then maybe the timing?

It could have all been so different.

Absolutely. I thought it was utterly cringe. But then they named their daughter Lillybet, and whole new levels of cringe emerged...

He is 95 and can say whatever the hell he likes, he has done more living than any of us and has far more experience of life.

What's interesting about these new comments from podcasters and agents that are coming out is that H&M can't blame them on the British press, or the Palace, or Rupert Murdoch, or on racism or sexism. Because both of them are being called hopeless, talentless and workshy. And even if the press that are reporting it are owned by people Harry doesn't like, they're only reporting statement that other people are making. People who know Hollywood, and podcasting, and TV, and America.

What's interesting about these new comments from podcasters and agents that are coming out is that H&M can't blame them on the British press, or the Palace, or Rupert Murdoch, or on racism or sexism

Wanna bet?

We've had the attempts at discrediting anyone who makes unwelcome remarks, the racism/sexism is practically a given to some, and now I'm only waiting for the suggestions that William's somehow influenced the US moguls or that they too have been reading trash media ... anything, in fact, rather than accept that the industry personnel might just have a point

I was reading something speculating on the reasons for Taylor Swift snubbing the invitation to appear on the Archetypes podcast and it occurred to me that one reason which wasn't mentioned was the very premise of the series. I didn't listen to any but read a few critiques and my understanding is that each episode focused on a particular mean word applied to women, to keep them in their place and hold them back. So it really needed someone with eg a Diva reputation to own the word and stand up for themselves. Which, when you think about it, is pretty insulting. Talk about a backhanded compliment. Please come on my podcast to discuss how you overcame your reputation as "bitch".
Nice one.
I wouldn't go on that either.