Meghan strikes new podcast deal as Sussex rebrand continues: Duchess says she’s ‘proud’ as she signs contract with ‘female-founded’ company after parting ways with Spotify

Meghan Markle has signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media after she and Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify.

The move will see her host a new podcast series for the female-founded company and have her Spotify-exclusive show Archetypes distributed to all platforms. 

‘I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,’ Markle said in a statement. 

The new deal comes a year after the Dutchess and her husband Harry ended their $20million deal with Spotify, three years after it was signed.  

Spotify and the Sussexes’s audio production company Archewell Audio released a joint statement saying they have ‘mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together’. 

A top Spotify podcast executive then called Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘f***ing grifters’ after they produced only one 13-episode series of a podcast for the company, and then split. 

Meghan Markle has signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media after she and Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify

The end of the couple’s reported $20million deal was announced in 2023, three years after it was signed

Markle added: ‘Being able to support a female-founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024. 

‘Our plan to re-release ‘Archetypes’ so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works. I’m so eager to be able to share it soon, and am overjoyed to be joining the Lemonada family.’

There are no details of the new show yet, other than that Markle has been confirmed as the host. 

Archetypes, Meghan’s original Spottily show, had around 1 million listens per episode and debuted as Spotify’s No. 1 podcast in 47 countries around the world when it launched in August 2022.

The series explored the labels that try to hold women back and included guests such as Mariah Carey, Jameela Jamil and Pamela Adlon.

The series won a People’s Choice Award for The Pop Podcast of 2022 and Markle won best entertainment podcast host at the Gracie Awards.

Under the new deal, this show will now be rolled out to all audio platforms with Lemonada distributing.

Bill Simmons, Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, condemned the pair in an episode of his own podcast. 

‘The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them,’ he said. 

‘I’ve got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.’

Bill Simmons (left), who sold his podcast and sports journalism company The Ringer to Spotify for $200 million in 2020, now works as Spotify’s head of podcast innovation. On Friday he described the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (right) as ‘f****** grifters’ after they parted ways with the company

Meghan Markle’s Spotify podcast Archetypes will not be renewed for a second season 

Simmons, a sportswriter, founded sports and pop culture website and podcast network The Ringer, and sold it to Spotify in 2020 for $200 million. 

He then joined Spotify, and has long been critical of the couple.

Last January, he blasted Prince Harry, saying it was ’embarrassing’ to be affiliated with the same company.

‘Shoot this guy to the sun,’ he said, according to sports website The Big Lead. 

‘I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about s*** and keeps giving interviews. 

‘Who gives a s***? Who cares about your life? 

‘You weren’t even the favorite son. You live in f****** Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them.’

Spotify has recently laid off staff and scaled back big-name talent in favor of emphasizing the creator economy. 

The streaming giant announced it would be laying off around 200 staff members – around two per cent of their workforce – who work within their podcast teams. It cited difficulties in making podcasts profitable, despite its popularity among listeners. 

Markle’s Spotify podcast, Archetypes, will not be renewed for a second season. 

The move to ditch the Duchess of Sussex‘s show, which explores the ‘labels that try to hold women back’, follows discussions months ago about renewing it for a second series.

Insiders close to the audio giant claim the royal couple did not meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Markle, however, is still planning to create more podcasts and find a new home for her series, which previously featured her friend and tennis star Serena Williams, pop sensation Mariah Carey and South African comedian Trevor Noah.

Meghan signed off her 12th episode in the Archetypes podcast series with a defiant piece of poetry about survival

The axing of the show comes after sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed the pair would stop making tell-all Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and sitting down for interviews discussing the royal family, as they have ‘nothing left to say’.

The talent agency that recently signed Meghan, WME, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. 

‘Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.’

The podcast reached the top of Spotify’s charts in the week it premiered.  

Meghan signed off her 13th and last Archetypes episode with a defiant piece of poetry about survival – but made no mention of a potential second series.

Closing the show, which featured men for the first time, she quoted the Greek post-war poet Dinos Christianopoulos and said: ‘What didn’t you do to bury me? But you forgot that I was a seed.’

Discussions to publish more content from Archwell – the production company owned by the royal couple – are ongoing, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

There are also suggestions that Meghan could soon look to bring back her wellness and lifestyle blog The Tig, in a bid to rival Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website, which is reportedly worth $250million.

It comes amid reports that the couple will stop making documentaries and tell-all books as they have ‘nothing left to say’

The royal pair have raked in millions since moving to California. Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare was part of a $20million book deal 

Since officially leaving the Royal Family and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess have pursued a number of different avenues to bring in revenue.

This includes Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare which he created as part of a $20million deal with Penguin Books.

The couple also teamed up with Netflix to produce the docu-series called Harry And Meghan, with the streaming giant reportedly paying the pair $100million for the six-episode series.

It came as Prince Harry and Meghan unveiled their new website sussex.com, which modestly insists the pair are ‘shaping the future through business and philanthropy.’

The website is operated by ‘The Office of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘ and is a ‘one-stop shop’ for all their activities. 

Sussex.com is minimalistic by design and features a large photograph of the couple on the home page.

It has links to the Archewell Foundation and Archewell Productions, as well as the controversial sussexroyal.com website launched in 2020 to coincide with their decision to step back as working royals. 

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September 2023. The photograph now appears on the Home page of sussex.com

Their ‘About’ page reads: ‘The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy’

It is thought the Duke and Duchess will use the site to share their personal and official updates, keeping people informed through the ‘News’ section.

Their ‘About’ page reads: ‘The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy.

‘This includes: The Archewell Foundation, Archewell Productions, patronages, ventures, and organizations which receive the support of the couple, individually and/or together.’

There is also a page dedicated to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, detailing their backgrounds and achievements.

Prince Harry’s biography references his 10-years served in the British Armed Forces and as a New York Times bestselling author of Spare, ‘a memoir of his life told with compassion, vulnerability and unflinching honesty’.

Meghan’s biography refers to her advocacy work, her career in the entertainment industry as a lead role in the TV series ‘Suits’ and as a NY Times bestselling author of children’s book ‘The Bench’ and ‘Together: Our Community Kitchen’. 

Their biographies include the line: ‘They are committed to their mission: Show Up, Do Good. They hold the value that charitable work should not simply be ‘a handout, but rather a hand held’.

The Archewell Foundation was set up by the Duke and Duchess to ‘build meaningful initiatives’ and ‘drive long-term change’. 

Archewell Productions was founded in 2020 and is ‘dedicated to illuminating thought-provoking and diverse narratives that underscore our common humanity and celebrate community.’

Prince Harry dashed to London from LA last week to see his father King Charles, who was recently diagnosed with cancer

The Duchess of Sussex (centre) prepared Afghan food together with 15 Afghan women now living in the US on Saturday

Following the announcement of the King’s illness on Monday, Prince Harry, 39, flew to London from California where he lives with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children.

The Duke of Sussex took a commercial British Airways flight from Los Angeles arriving at Buckingham Palace at 2.42pm.

He then spent around 45 minutes chatting with his father, which is thought to be their first proper contact in 15 months.

It was their first formal meeting in person since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle joined 15 women who have resettled in the US from Afghanistan to cook traditional Afghan food over the weekend.

The Duchess of Sussex created The Welcome Project in 2023 together with the Archewell Foundation, which she set up together with Prince Harry.

The programme is supposed to create ‘a safe haven and inclusive environment for women who have recently resettled in the US from Afghanistan’, according to a press release by the Archewell Foundation.

On Saturday, Meghan joined the Southern California Welcome Project for an evening of cooking and storytelling.