Isolated by choice from the rest of the royal family, with no prospect of reconciliation, with UK public opinion overwhelmingly against it, and a billionaire lifestyle (which they are in a way, but up to a point), Harry and Meghan They need their story to interest the United States and the North Americans to buy it. In that sense, it is very bad news that Spotify has canceled, after only one season, the twenty million dollar contract they signed in 2020.
Bad sign, and a heads up for surfers, but still not a disaster, because the much larger deal with Netflix to produce documentaries ($100 million) has gotten the backing of the streaming company, and in the bank (or under the bank). mattress in his bedroom in Montecito, or wherever) are the 28 million euros that Enrique received from Diana's inheritance, to which must be added his salary as an executive of the Better Up startup (around a million dollars a year). year), and what Meghan has been able to save from her acting career.
Spotify's decision has been influenced by the crisis of the Stockholm-based company, which in the last year recorded losses of 430 million euros after admitting that its spending plans had been too ambitious, has already fired two hundred workers and announced that will eliminate 6% of its workforce worldwide. But also that the content of Meghan's podcasts, in the form of conversations with her friends Serena Williams and Mariah Carey about female empowerment ("Investigating and dissecting the prejudices that weigh women down"), gender equality, social justice, mental health and racism, have not had the hook that was expected. Which have been, to put it in some way, dull.
The latter is indeed worrying for the Sussex brand. Have the Americans – their fundamental audience – begun to get tired of what Enrique and Meghan have to say, of their troubles with the Windsors, how discriminated against they feel, their opinions on this and that? Their plan A, say people close to them, consists of not milking the scandal cow anymore, and making a living with advertising and audiovisual businesses (such as those of Netflix and Spotify). But in reserve there is always the possibility of a new autobiography or denunciation book, with material (if any) that has not yet been used.
Some desperate dukes, in need of money, is the most dangerous option for the palace. In principle, the agreement between Enrique and the Penguin publishing house (which published En la sombra, for which it is speculated that he received an advance of twenty million euros, and which has sold like hotcakes) is for four books, and the interest from the British royal house is that they be as nondescript as possible, without further accusations or reasons for scandal. But what can the youngest son of Carlos III tell more to attract attention?
If what Enrique and Meghan have to say lacks interest, then they are going to have a problem, because, although they are not poor, their expenses are enormous (for security to begin with), and in Santa Barbara (California) they take a train life that is not easy to maintain without losing capital, paying for a house of fifteen million euros and rubbing shoulders with people much richer than them. By Hollywood standards, they're just plain middle class. His goal of creating a billion-dollar empire may be unattainable, especially if his aura fades.
The jury has not yet pronounced its decision on the matter. The door on Spotify and Meghan's podcast Stereotypes has closed, but the couple's Netflix series has a huge audience (2.5 million people in the UK alone downloaded the first episode on the day it premiered), and has also been nominated for the Hollywood Critics Circle Awards in the non-fiction category. No one lives off pats on the back, but they can shore up their reputation as documentary filmmakers and creators of audiovisual content. Your super agent Ari Emanuel and his PR agency will be delighted.
The Sussexes want to live like royalty by telling "positive stories" of lifestyle and personal enrichment, Gwyneth Paltrow style. But the positive stories can lack spark. Brexit has been a failure, Megxit remains to be seen.
