Meghan Markle appears downcast amid news of Spotify deal collapse

After spending most of the year laying low, the Duchess of Sussex has been spotted on a tense phone call amid news Spotify won’t renew her contract.

Meghan Markle looked tense during her recent outing in Santa Barbara. Picture: CB/Backgrid

A sombre-looking Meghan Markle has made a rare public appearance in the wake of news her Spotify deal has been cancelled after just one season of her podcast.

The Duchess of Sussex appeared to be in an intense conversation on her phone as she walked to a salon appointment in Santa Barbara on Friday, according to the Daily Mail.

Meghan, 41, wore her hair loose and opted for a black long-sleeved top tucked into dark wash jeans, with a blue and white striped knit jumper.

She accessorised with a large black Fendi handbag, worth around $7,800, and several gold bracelets.

Meghan appeared caught up in an intense conversation. Picture: CB/Backgrid

She kept her phone nearby and kept checking it after the call ended, according to onlookers. Picture: CB/Backgrid

The Sussexes’ Spotify arrangement, estimated to be worth somewhere between $29 million and $37 million AUD, was declared officially over in a joint statement from the streaming giant and Harry and Meghan’s company, Archewell Audio, last week.

In it, both parties stated they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”.

She was on her way to a salon appointment in Santa Barbara. Picture: CB/Backgrid

Following its debut, Archetypes became the top podcast on Spotify and won a People’s Choice Award in December. However, sources told Variety that Spotify executives had expected more content from their eye-watering deal with the Sussexes.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the couple did not meet the “productivity benchmarks” required to get the full payout before their contract ended.

It’s unclear how much money they ended up making from their Spotify deal. Picture: Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Just one day after news of the cancelled deal was made public, a Spotify executive slammedHarry and Meghan as “lazy” and “f**king grifters”.

“I wish I had been involved in the ‘Megan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation,” the streamer’s Head of Sports Strategy, Bill Simmons, said during Friday’s episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.

“That’s a podcast we should’ve launched with them. I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of this Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”

Meanwhile, another industry insider told Page Six that Spotify was shifting its podcasting priorities.

“Spotify wants to focus on people who drive strong audiences, like Alex Cooper, Dax Shepard and Emma Chamberlain. There are a lot of great creators who are very eager,” the source said.

“Meghan and Harry are the outlier on all of this, I think they have come off as being lazy and difficult.”

In the wake of their Spotify departure, there’s also been speculation about the future of Harry and Meghan’s whopping multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix.

There are reports it may also be in jeopardy, with the couple having so far delivered only one series – Harry & Meghan – with just one other, Heart of Invictus, in production.

That deal, also made in 2020, was worth a reported US$100 million (A$145 million).