Meghan Markle earned more than The Weeknd for just ’12 hours work,’ ex-Spotify exec tells BBC

“Grifter” allegations continue to percolate against Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, as reports and complaints grow about the extent to which she in particular didn’t do that much work on her 12-episode  Archetypes podcast to fulfill their $20 million deal to produce content with Spotify.

After the Wall Street Journal suggested that Meghan might not earn that full $20 million after failing to meet productivity clauses over 2½ years, Podnews.net reported that it had heard “from multiple sources” that some of the interviews aired on her podcast were done by staffers — not the Duchess of Sussex herself.

Meanwhile, Will Page, the former former chief economist at Spotify, told the BBC on Friday that Meghan and Harry possibly earned more from their Spotify deal than the company’s most streamed song ever, “Blinding Lights,” by The Weeknd.

Page, a veteran radio and podcast host, said on BBC’s “The World Tonight” that he doesn’t know the audience numbers that Meghan pulled in when Archetypes was launched last August. But he said he “did a quick bit of math” before coming on the show. He told BBC’s Shaun Ley that if the Sussexes received anywhere near the reported $20 million, they earned more than ‘Blinding Lights,’ the hit song by The Weeknd. Page didn’t explain his calculations but based his figures on Meghan only doing 12 episodes. “Not bad for 12 hours work,” Page said.

Page also explained why the demise of Meghan and Harry’s Spotify deal reflects larger trends in the tumultuous podcast industry. The industry is a new media that doesn’t operate like film, TV or music, which are all reliant on producing blockbusters that reach large audiences and penetrate the culture.

“What podcasts really are are a sea of niches,” Page said. “(Podcast) audiences don’t want them to become a blockbuster model. Spotify made a huge bet on creating these blockbuster podcasts like Harry and Meghan, and the audiences said, ‘That’s not for us. We want niche content, we want intimacy’” with our podcasts.

On Page’s own podcast, the economic-trends show “Bubble Trouble,” he said that the only real blockbuster in the podcast world is Joe Rogan’s Spotify show. Page said “The Joe Rogan Experience” can bring in 3 million listeners for a “small show” and 20 million for an episode featuring Elon Musk or another controversial guest engaging in a free-wheeling conversation that is certain to go viral. However much some might object to Rogan’s content, Page said that Rogan works really hard at his podcast, producing up to three, three-hour shows per week.

Meghan reportedly had a full, expert team provided by Spotify to get her lavishly produced podcast off the ground, nearly two years after she and Harry signed their deal with the company. “Archetypes” explored societal labels attached to women by showcasing expert commentary on female gender roles and Meghan’s chatty conversations with such celebrity guests as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah.

But reports have emerged that Meghan didn’t interview all the guests on her show, especially the non-celebrities. Questions from Meghan were edited in after these interviews took place to make it sound as though she was in conversations with these guests, Podnews.net said.

Podnews.net didn’t cite specific examples of when Meghan didn’t interview her guests, but reports have surfaced a social media post from last year from journalist Allison Yarrow. The journalist revealed that she wasn’t interviewed by Meghan for the show but by a member of her production company, the Daily Mail reported. Yarrow, who appeared on an episode that explored the origin and harmful uses of the word b—-, thanked a producer for being such an “excellent interviewer.”