Prince Harry and Meghan Markle secured two large deals with entertainment platforms in late 2020, one with Netflix and the other with Spotify. It’s clear now that the couple are filming a reality television show about their lives for the streaming giant but have only one 35-minute podcast episode to their name.

What happened? Do they still have the deal, or have they lost it?

Well, according to Spotify, “Big things are coming.”

At least Spotify hopes so, after 11 months of nothing but a middling 35-minute program, which cost about £500,000 a minute to produce if their deal is as significant as has been reported.

No doubt the podcasting giant is rather furious, especially as they promised the public that Archewell Audio would release content throughout 2021. 

That hasn’t happened, but maybe 2022 will be better. For the amount of money that Spotify shelled out, one can only hope.

Podcasting is huge right now, and Royal News Network is releasing one as well (The Royal Gab, check it out on Dec. 2 on your favorite podcast stations). But businesses aren’t going to pay someone to sit on their behind. After a year with nothing, no doubt Spotify is getting a bit nervous that they may have overpaid for the couple and their meaningless word salad (Meghan) and generally dumb statements (Harry).

Though there is some time and effort involved, which Harry and Meghan can farm out, podcasts are not terribly difficult to produce, and no one has to have their makeup on or hair done in order to do it. 

A true podcaster needs just an idea, a microphone and some sort of editing software. It’s not complicated really.

Editing can be time consuming, but once it’s done there isn’t much left to do but add music and a title sequence and a closing. And Harry and Meghan aren’t doing any of the hard work, so what’s the hold up?

There are a couple of different options.

While the Sussex’s have plenty to say, Spotify may have been frustrated with their initial efforts and lack of creativity. If Megxit has taught the world anything, it’s that Harry is a rather unintelligent man. It would be doubtful if he could carry the program. Meghan could have some strong ideas, but maybe the execution wasn’t what Spotify intended.

Another possibility is that the couple are compiling, like with their Netflix deal, some behind-the-scenes royal material. Harry could have recorded his family members after the passing of Prince Philip and other things, which would enrage his family and isolate him even more. Hopefully, that’s not the case.

The other and more realistic possibility is that Harry and Meghan took the initial offering, and just decided that they would spend the money and tell Spotify to shove it until they were good and ready to release a podcast. 

There’s no good reason why the couple didn’t do more podcasts this year, unless they just didn’t want to. But if that’s their attitude, that attitude will quickly make its way throughout the back channels of Hollywood. At the end of the day, executives care about money in the bank and not platitudes or perfectly quotable word salads. 

Business owners want results, and if Harry and Meghan can’t provide quality material, Archewell Audio may be finding a new home or folding all together. Only time will tell.