Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are facing a backlash over their lucrative deal with Spotify. According to reports, the former senior working royals will be earning an estimated $25 million from the music streaming platform. However, this did not sit well with some British musicians who are reportedly earning much less for their music.
Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Kate Bush, Robert Plant, and Stevie Nicks are just some of the artists that called on the UK government this week to reform the way musicians are paid when their songs are streamed online.
To make things worse, the British musicians did not like how the head of Spotify seemingly defended Prince Harry and Markle’s hefty paycheck. While he didn’t reveal the exact figures the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be receiving, he confirmed that they are not doing their podcast for free.
While speaking with Star, singer-songwriter Callum Gardner said that even though he’s been writing songs since he was 12, he doesn’t get paid by Spotify.
“It’s never even broken for the money I used to put songs on Spotify. It’s hard, I don’t know what we are supposed to do because they have all the power and somehow all of the artists have all agreed,” he said.
Harrison Rhys, another young musician, also weighed in on the controversy. He described the deal involving the Sussexes as an “unethical kick in the teeth.”
“I believe what Spotify has done is unethical, we are only being paid £0.0038 [about half a cent] per stream but they are able to pay out what is probably a multimillion-dollar fee to Harry and Meghan,” he said.
Rhys also said that he understands why Prince Harry and Markle accepted the huge deal from Spotify. And he also acknowledged the fact that the couple is doing a lot of good with their projects across the globe. However, he stressed that the past year has also been very difficult for musicians.
Prince Harry and Markle aren’t the only A-listers that have scored deals with Spotify. The music streaming giant also has ties to Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as Kim Kardashian-West.
Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also have another lucrative partnership with Netflix. They will soon release their first documentary centered on the Invictus Games next year.
According to reports, the former royals will be earning approximately $100 from Netflix alone. The partnership will increase the couple’s combined net worth of $65 million.
Source: Star, Elle, Harper's Bazaar