Inside Meghan Markle’s bid to become world’s ‘highest-paid influencer’ after losing Spotify deal
MEGHAN Markle could make £250,000 per social media post as she looks to become the world’s “highest-paid influencer” after losing her deal with Spotify.
Prince Harry and Meghan were dropped from the streaming giant this week following reports they did not meet “productivity requirements” – putting their £18m pay out in doubt.
But the couple could now be in line for a £15million windfall if they sign a rumoured deal with fashion giant Dior.
It comes after Prince Harry was spotted in a Dior suit at the King’s coronation last month.
The brand tweeted at the time: “Tailoring fit for royalty. Dior is honored to have dressed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, for the coronation of King Charles III in a custom design by Kim Jones.
“Seen arriving at Westminster Abbey, gain an insight into the savoir-faire of his three-piece suit next.”
Meghan recently signed with Ari Emanuel, the charismatic chief of talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME).
Marketing expert David Olusegen, co-founder of Creative Control Ventures, said the agency clearly wants to transform her image.
He said: “A lot of people are surprised she’s signed with a talent agency. She is the first royal to do so. But they’re going to rebrand her.
“They want to take away the toxicity and negativity and put her in a new space.
“After the collapse of the Spotify deal it’s clear people don’t care about them as much as before. WME wants to realign her with luxury brands like Dior.”
He added that Meghan could be worth up to £250,000 per social media post as she tries to become the highest-paid influencer.
He said: “I think she’s going to be very picky in terms of what posts she does. I don’t see her being like other influencers who bombard their feeds.
“She’ll only post the right brands, that align with her. And it wouldn’t be obvious. She’ll do classy, intentional posts that match whatever setting she’s in.”
On the alleged Dior deal he added that Meghan could design her own clothes for the label.
He said: “You never know how the relationship will develop. If Meghan has some creativity it will be interesting to see how it plays out. If she utilises the opportunity it would be great for Dior and her brand.”
Andy Barr, PR expert and CEO of celebrity agency 10 Yetis, said the alleged deal with Dior “fits both brands perfectly”.
He added: “I don’t think we can expect the pair to be plastered all over ads in Tatler and Vanity Fair, but there will quite possibly be some soft selling, such as his recently wearing a Dior suit at the King’s Coronation.
“The Sussex’s will find Dior to be a far less vocal and less risky partnership than their recent Spotify deal that has allegedly left a sour taste in the mouth of behind-the-scenes bosses at the company.”
The couple were blasted as “f****** grifters” by Bill Simmons, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, after the £18m Archetypes podcast was axed.
Mr Barr added: “The commercials will be one of the closest guarded secrets in endorsement history.
“With the world respected WME talent agency rumoured to be handling the negotiations, the Sussex’s will be looking around at deals like Beyonce’s last $20m contract with Adidas and expecting a similar or better offer.”
Meanwhile, royal expert Angela Levin said fashion was an unlikely choice for Meghan after her controversial comments over the time she spent opening boxes on Deal or No Deal.
She added: “She said she didn’t like it when she was opening boxes on Deal or No Deal. How will this be any different?
“It’s all about what you look like and she was above that. Now here she is doing it again. The thing is they start with a huge fanfare of this is going to be the most wonderful thing they’ve done. Then shortly afterwards it falls apart because Meghan won’t listen to anyone else.”
Ms Levin added that the couple have shown they “can’t stick to anything” since their Spotify deal collapsed.
She said: “Meghan gets bored and wants to move on. They’ll get bored very quickly.”
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams claimed the couple had to be planning “something pretty dramatic instantaneously because they need to counter this grifters business”.
He said Hollywood doesn’t look well on “failures” and the couple need to earn back their star power after the end of their Spotify deal.
Netflix are also said to be conducting an “ongoing review” of its £80 million deal with the Sussexes.
Mr Fitzwilliams added: “The couple face a dilemma that is both challenging and potentially disastrous, but they could still come out on top.
“If they were to lose Spotify and Netflix and not announce anything else that really would be seen as extremely serious.”
Prince Harry and Meghan have both previously been spotted in the public eye wearing Dior.
Meghan donned a £99,000 Dior outfit during a Royal visit to Morocco in 2019.
Mr Fitswilliams said: “Meghan wore Dior. This has been remarked on. It’s clearly a possible hint as to what might happen.
“Prince Harry was in the eye of a global storm and wore Dior. Clearly that was arranged, but with what purpose I can’t know.”
The Duchess of Sussex is also said to have befriended marketing expert Victoria Jackson, who’s married to another legendary marketing boss Bill Guthy.
It is expected the couple could help Meghan make millions, needed to fund their luxury lifestyle.
Prince Harry and Meghan have security costs estimated at £2million a year.
And public records in the US show they bought their 16-bathroom Montecito mansion in 2020 for £11.4 million ($14.65 million), with a 7.4 million ($9.5 million) mortgage on it.
On top of that their annual property taxes are £113,000 ($141,403) and they have to pay for a nanny and household help.