Sussexes did not expect Spotify to turn down so many ideas
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not expect Spotify executives to “turn down so many of their ideas”, Omid Scobie has claimed in his new book.
The biographer, whose book Endgame is published on Tuesday, said the couple have learnt a “mountain of lessons” about the world of business since leaving the Royal family, and might have “thought twice” about signing some lucrative deals “had they not been under so much financial pressure”.
Writing of the Sussexes’ plans, Scobie, 42, says: “The rush to sign commercial deals after the royal institution cut them off from all funding and security in 2020 led them to sign some lucrative deals they might have thought twice about had they not been under so much financial pressure.
“When the couple signed a contract worth up to $20 million (£15m) with Spotify to develop podcasts, neither of the two expected executives to turn down so many of their ideas.
“The streamer, said a company source, was only interested in paying out for juicy goods that could generate major headlines and bring in subscriptions.
“Only a portion of that $20 million was ever paid out and the two parties ‘mutually agreed’ to part ways in the summer of 2023....
“There have definitely been a mountain of lessons learned when it comes to the business side of things,” a source close to the couple admitted.
‘Grim experiences behind palace walls’
Scobie also warns that there remains much of Meghan’s “full story” about her “grim experiences behind palace walls” to reveal if she chooses.
While the couple’s documentaries and books have already revealed a “shocking amount”, he writes: “There are still things the couple has not shared.”
The couple, he claims, retain the power to reveal more about the “dismal record” of the Royal family’s treatment of women who married in, whom they allegedly view as “ultimately disposable”.