After Megflix, it’s ‘£18m’ Radio Sussex

Calling the world: Meghan and Harry have signed a lucrative deal with Spotify to make podcasts

FIRST there was their deal – rumoured to be worth £75million – to make programmes for streaming channel Netflix.

Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have secured another lucrative link-up – with digital music service Spotify – for an estimated £18million.

Harry and Meghan, who acrimoniously quit as working members of the Royal Family in March to make their fortune through commercial careers in the US, have signed an exclusive deal to make podcasts, it was announced yesterday.

The couple say that, starting this month, they plan to ‘host and produce podcasts that build community through shared experience, narratives, and values’ under their new brand, Archewell Audio.

The deal is the latest stage in their attempt to build what one marketing executive predicted would be a ‘billiondollar brand’.

A two-minute teaser released on Spotify yesterday had Harry and Meghan discussing their first project, a Christmas ‘holiday special’.

It billed them as: ‘ Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, present Archewell Audio. Coming soon to Spotify.’

And it started with a rather toe-curling exchange between the couple, in which Meghan urged Harry to introduce Archewell Audio as ‘it sounds really nice with your accent’.

They insisted it was their shared ‘passion for meeting people and hearing their stories’ – rather than money – that prompted the deal.

Harry says: ‘That’s what this project is all about. To bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before... because when that happens, change really is possible.’

The prince reveals their first project is a holiday special, prompting him and his wife to start singing, make bell noises and giggling. Harry, 36, adds: ‘We can’t wait to share it with you.

‘So many people have been through so much pain this year, experiencing loss, a huge amount of uncertainty.

‘But it feels worth acknowledging that 2020 has connected us in ways we could never have imagined through endless acts of compassion and kindness.’

Both he and Meghan, 39, urge listeners to ‘tap and follow, right now’.

Harry added: ‘ That way you won’t miss out. You’ll be able to hear new shows from Archewell Audio as soon as they drop.’

He then uses the distinctly American phrase to wish listeners: ‘Happy holidays!’

Meghan adds in a rather more British idiom: ‘Cheers!’

It is not known how much their contract is worth, but the streaming service agreed an £82million deal with US comedian Joe Rogan in May and has also splashed the cash on signing up former First Lady Michelle Obama, a friend of the duke and duchess.

Professor Jonathan Shalit, chairman of talent agency InterTalent, estimated the Sussexes’ deal as being worth $25million (£18million) over several years. As it is with an Archewell subsidiary, it is likely the cash will go to their charity. Announcing the link-up yesterday, Spotify boasted that it would be an exclusive ‘multi-year partnership’ reaching its 144million premium subscribers and 320million monthly active users.

Spotify’s Dawn Ostroff said: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live in California, but the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world.’

The first complete series from Archewell Audio and Spotify is expected next year. Harry and Meghan commented: ‘What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction.

‘With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so.’

This week it emerged that Meghan is investing in a start-up that makes instant vegan ‘super lattes’. The couple are also set to earn up to £770,000 for delivering ‘inspirational’ talks. In February, Harry received a reported six-figures um for speaking at a JPM organ investment summit in Miami.