Last month, the Duchess of Sussex announced her new podcasting deal with Lemonada, a female-operated company and home to mostly women podcasters. I said at the time that Meghan made the choice to go for an offer with less money, likely because she wanted to give a boost to Lemonada. I’m sure Audible was interested, and probably several other podcasting platforms. One of the funniest things about Meghan’s move to Lemonada was that we learned that Archewell owns the archives of Meghan’s first podcast, Archetypes. Spotify never owned Archetypes, so now Meghan has brought Archetypes to Lemonada and that podcast can be heard on multiple platforms, as you can see by the change in watermarks/branding. Obviously, various “experts” are trying to make all of this sound bad:
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been busy since stepping back as senior working royals. Following the early end of her Spotify deal last year, the Duchess of Sussex is relaunching her podcast career with a new streaming network – but could face a £16million loss. Meghan has signed with American podcast network Lemonada Media to create new content, and her old 12-episode Archetypes episodes will also be distributed by the firm. But while her previous Spotify gig was worth around £18million, her new contract could be worth significantly less.
Branding expert Andrew Bloch told Fabulous: “The Lemonada deal is believed to be worth much less than the former Spotify deal. While the couple were paid around £18million by Spotify, Lemonada’s total revenue across all of its podcasts was around $8million (£6.3million) last year.”
Although the deal’s worth is not yet known, Andrew estimated: “Meghan’s new deal could be worth roughly 10 per cent of Spotify deal, so around £1.9million.”
When the Duchess of Sussex signed onto the Spotify deal, she joined the likes of former US President Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Lemonada showcases podcasts from former Seinfeld actress Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Nickelodeon child star Jenette McCurdy.
Yeah, signing up with Lemonada means less money, but what else does it say to you? It says to me that Meghan enjoys podcasting so much that she’ll do it for less money. It says that the money isn’t the point of it. It says that she would rather work with a female-led company than the toxic bros at Spotify.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Archetypes posters courtesy of Spotify and Lemonada.
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- Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to watch the swimming finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany. Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 13 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex attend Sitting Volleyball on day 6 of the Invictus Games at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf Featuring: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 15 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I’m willing to bet that Meghan has a financial investment in Lemonada and is helping it grow.
This would not surprise me at all.
Seems plausible to me. Also, look, they got great money from Spotify but some of that was definitely down to timing. I doubt they could have gotten the same amount of $$ now and NOT because they were disappointing as podcasters, but because the environment now is totally different.
Exactly – to me it says: she’ll have more autonomy and ALSO the option to grow Lemonda and exit – or have financial growth over time as opposed to cash up front without independence.
No one is getting huge deals for podcasts anymore. That was a temporary market blip Meghan and Harry benefited from, but smaller deals have always been the norm.
@snuffles – this was my thought too!
They know nothing. They should be investigating that taxpayer money that went to Chuckles foundation. This is just more deflection for what’s going on with the lazies and Chuckles. I can’t wait for her podcast to come out. I’m waiting patiently for that new content.
I totally agree @Susan Collins, how could they know anything about Meghan’s finances unless she told someone, which she certainly did not. I’m absolutely sure she is creating not only a platform for herself, but also so that others can win and by having a financial investment in the company she and Harry will win big-time. These so called experts don’t know ANYTHING!
I’m in the process of taking a $30,000 a year pay cut to leave a miserable, toxic, high-stress job to go work somewhere lovely full of rainbows and kittens. It’s an enormous privilege that I make enough that taking that kind of paycut is possible but it also feels like a sign of success and achievement that I don’t have to put up with lots of bullshit and misery for more money. This seems like such a wonderful opportunity for Meghan to be able to go to her version of rainbows and kittens because she and Harry have been successful enough that they CAN make these kinds of choices. Good for her!
KC, I hear you! Best wishes and many rainbows and kittens to you!
The only thing these royal ” experts” are experts in is speaking with their full chest when they don’t know what they’re talking about. Stay mad ya’ll!
And she’s so good at it. I’m listening to episode one of Archetypes right now, and I forgot how intelligent and passionate she is about this topic. You can’t fake that.
I’ve relistened to so many episodes of Archetypes. One, because it’s such a great listen. Two, learning. Three, how to word conversations to people who don’t get it. To get a point across without being the asshole they are. I’m still not very good at it. Improving. Meaning me not saying “You’re an a$$hole. Don’t let the door hit you in the back (while crossing fingers that the door hits them in the back).”.
Ya gotta laugh. Almost $2 mil isn’t bad (we don’t know the actual #-could be more-the BM undervalues Meghan yet makes a point of the number of bathrooms the Sussexes have-anywhere from 12-11 million fifty thousand).
Meghan already has the money. I think based on her retaining Archewell and those rights, there is probably more to it than just podcasting alone. You slso want to work with those who reflect your values and help you develop. Archetypes on repeat is one of the top shows on Apple Podcasts right now and someone on X said 10 mil downloads. I think Meghan’s ok with this deal.
I know I’m responsible for my small part of those downloads. I didn’t have a Spotify account & didn’t want one, but I do listen podcast when I walk or drive anywhere, so that’s daily. And this will be the second Lemonada Media podcast I subscribe to. That snotty misogynistic swipe at the end of the article really says a lot, about Spotify, about the Sun, about the d*mned British media. Why are they focused on Meghan’s earnings? Look closer into those bags of cash the left-behinds get!
Oh, these British media “people.” Before Meghan signed with Spotify, they kept repeating that the Sussexes would go broke. Then, when Meghan first signed the deal with Spotify, it was all “My God, how dare she? I sure how the queen gets to vet her contract.” Then, most recently, the BM kept saying that the Sussexes wouldn’t work anymore because no one wanted to work with them. Since she signed the new deal, they have been saying that this deal (that they know nothing about) is not as lucrative as the old one. They are so tiring.
That was my first thought after reading the article that Meghan had invested in Lemonada.
Having Meghan back hosting her own podcast: Priceless.
I’m so excited for her and I can’t wait to hear her new show.
I remember back when the conservative male voices were gaining their momentum out there in the airwaves. I didn’t know that would usher in the open misogyny and racism to the degree that we see now. I could see some of it, sure, but…damn!
I think it’s past time for others to have their say. It was so exciting to see her kick Joe Rogan in the ratings.
I can’t believe that the stupid spin job against her has some people believing she was a failure in this space. She was a success and there are some people out there brainwashed to believe Archetypes was some sort of failure! Make it make sense!
What they really want to say is Meghan is worth less. They spent all of last summer and fall crowing about how they were failures because of Spotify and South Park. Her getting a new deal elsewhere puts that to bed. Because if they were really lazy, the things that they had already done weren’t successful, why would another company take them on? Especially a smaller company who has more to lose honestly by investing in something then a larger company that can just write it off. Also I I know they won’t talk about itbecause narrative, but a ton of people left Spotify in the last 2 years. Ava Duvernay, Jemelle Hill, Brene Brown, the Obama’s. And that doesn’t even count the musical artist that won’t allow their music to be played on there anymore like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. But of course yeah it’s the Sussexes.
It shows that, unlike her in-laws, Meghan has ethics that she stands by. The Spotify deal worked at the time it was signed but then Spotify tanked its podcast division and encouraged the rise of Toxic Bros Who Hate Women.
The minute the contract expired Meghan and Harry happily walked away with the millions they received from Spotify. And now Meghan is rich enough that she can happily take a pay cut to work with a woman led company that doesn’t cater to incels.
It says that Meghan is financial secure and is happy to earn less at the company that’s not toxic.
I don’t know what they mean by worth. Was Meghan actually paid $16 million for her podcast or was that part of a larger deal for other content? And worth isn’t just about cash in – it’s is this deal worth my time, does it fit my mission, is it worth working with assholes just to get more money, will I get more worth by supporting people I like and respect?
This is also about top of the bubble vs the now more realistic money being paid out. How much they made from the Spotify deal depends on how it was structured. How much upfront? What were the delivery expectations? How much for each project? The fact that Archwell kept the copyright on Meghan’s deal tells me that the deal was incredibly favorable to the Sussexes.
I will say that from a business perspective, the Sussexes did themselves no favors by signing these deals and then settling back and deciding what they were going to do. And having a baby and taking leave. Hollywood/content land does not expect that. Good on them for making that choice, but it will cost them money.
Is that what happened with Spotify though? Wasn’t it the grifter grinch Bill Simmons himself who indicated there was a conflict between the types of programming Spotify was suggesting and what the Sussex’s were proposing? I seem to remember some comments from him, criticizing Harry for being unwilling to take suggestions for content. It could have been someone else besides Simmons, but the gist was, there were things Harry and Meghan wanted to do, but there was pushback because Spotify wanted something else. It was around the time the tide began to turn in the podcast industry. Commenters here suggested what Spotify had hoped for when they set up the deal was something with details about the royal family, which certainly makes sense. Harry and Meghan weren’t going to do that, and probably said so when they signed. So it wasn’t so much that they were sitting back, it sounded at the time like they couldn’t come to an agreement with Spotify about the next projects. Hence what I assumed was a mutual parting of the ways, despite how Simmons made it.
*made it sound!
Let’s not forget the upheaval behind the scenes of Spotify and Gimlet. Huge. This was never a H&M content problem. Ever.
Dear royal rota, William wanted to be a big boy and get all the positive press coverage. To achieve this he allowed and encouraged his brother/sil to be treated horribly in the media and threatened their safety by removing proper security whilest inflaming the narrative in the media. They left and are never, ever comjng back and are never, ever being subservient to the royals again because they made their own way. They have a nice big house and plenty of money. If Meghan did the podcast for minimum wage (she is making a fortune btw), she still would earn more money than Keen has ever earned in the workforce. Rota. You are stuck with the royals left in the uk. Live with it.
“… If Meghan did the podcast for minimum wage (she is making a fortune btw), she still would earn more money than Keen has ever earned in the workforce.”
😂😂😂 Absolutely brilliant. 10/10. No notes.
Damn, that’s such a sad (but true) commentary on Kate’s earning history.
Teh poor menz!
Relegated to pocket-watching the Sussexes, but especially Meghan, for all eternity, just like the Derangers.
If they were only to calculate the cost of the monarchy to the taxpayers as diligently – the hundreds of millions for the con-a-nation and the best care in the world for Princess Mumblina Middlebum Mattress McButtons and Duchess of Tights and Tiaras included. Plus the money the taxpayers happily hand over to various foundations, trusts etc because the shopping bags full of pound notes from dictators like Bone Saw and the hush money from Murdoch just don’t cut it.
I’m sure the Lemonada deal is worth it to Meghan, whether she’ll get an eventual bonus sum or her being an investor.
Better than sharing a virtual home with conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxer, science and climate denier Joe Rogan anyway.
Meghan going with a women-led company makes sense.
I mean, duh! Lemonada isn’t as big as Spotify. Of course, they are gonna pay less. Like everybody said, it speaks volumes Meghan chose a relatively small female-led company to work with especially in the times of podcast bro culture. Thanks to Meghan, I checked out their other podcasts, I didn’t know they have got a lot of different voices like Jennette Mccurdy. Looking at their talent list, I can see why Meghan chose them. My only complaint, I only listen through google podcast app. It didn’t drop there. I am gonna be unhappy if I need to download another app.
As a last note, I am a religious listener of Conan O’Brien’s podcast. I don’t think it ever made it to some top list, but it got its own loyal audience. According to the standards everybody applies to Meghan, his podcast is a failure. It is just so stupid to discuss things like that as a failure or success. If it got an audience, it is gonna be fine and Meghan already got one consisting of both haters and squad.
@sevenblue, you can listen from LemonadaMedia.com
Cool, after getting signing up, you can add podcasts to your list apparently. Thanks.
It’s called having principles, and sticking by them when in a position privileged enough to do so.
It’s no surprise that’s a foreign concept to the british gutter press.
Lemonada is a great platform; they tell amazing and profound stories. Not everything is about money when you lead with integrity, which has always impressed me about H&M. I believe the partnership will be mutually beneficial.
The other thing that should be mentioned is that the podcasting industry is going into a dip (studios closing, etc.) and so blockbuster deals are increasingly unlikely.
People move jobs, and take less money for various reasons all the time. If I were to guess, though, I have one word: equity
I am getting so tired of the intellectually lazy media siccing the trolls on any company foundation or person that associates with h and m . Lemonada Hosted a podcast during the pandemic that was a freaking lifeline to people. Their stable of podcasters is impressive and listening to their founders is inspiring. If she is not paid a dime this platform is an excellent one for Meghan.
Are those rats trying a different angle to find out how much was the deal?
I love how they’re trying just somehow make M look bad, when really this just makes Spotify look terrible. If this was anyone but Meghan, everyone would be talking about how Spotify got taken to the cleaners.
They spent how much money and didn’t even retain rights? Go Meghan. Such a HBIC.
I think that’s fabulous news for Meghan too.
Spotify is trash. Meghan is class. The end. Oh, and I can finally listen to her now without supporting garbage red pill bro culture.
Spotify is circling the drain. It’s NEVER made a profit. Money isn’t free anymore and their leadership is atrocious. It may take a couple years to burn through but it’s a dead studio walking.
Also there are no experts working for The Sun.
Yeah, this isn’t Spotify money but SHE GOT SPOTIFY MONEY. Not her problem they only got the one series before parting ways. Plus as noted she retains that series. They’re still so mad she got the Spotify deal in the first place. I hope she’s laughing her head off at them still losing theirs over this nonsense.
Working with Lemonada is a CHOICE, Rota Rats. They hate that Duchess Meg has so much money that she can afford to leave money on the table.
Meg knows that all money ain’t good money. I love this for her.
I didn’t realize until after the original article went up that one of my favorite soothing podcasts, Everything Happens with Kate Bowler, is a Lemonada podcast. I’m happy to see Duchess Meghan work with a smaller, more intimate, and more woman-led network.
Alas, the sneering tone about “Nickelodeon child star” Jenette McCurdy, as opposed to “New York Times best-selling author” Jenette McCurdy tells me everything I need to know about how that concept lands with the rota rats and hangers-on.
Right? Jennette McCurdy had one of the most successful memoirs ever, just as Prince Harry did. Hers was a story that took so many by surprise, and touched so many, it was heartbreaking. That’s nothing to sniff at & shows exactly the kind of people these Sun writers are. Misogynistic a**holes.
Smart to have kept the righst to her podcast. Happy for her all around. Go Meg!
this smaller market allows Meghan to work on podcast ideas that interest her-it gives her the freedom to create topics that relates to her life experiences-she does not want to be pushed into doing something she feels incomfortable with-less toxic culture around her to deal with-Good luck to Meghan and I am proud she found her niche.