What does grifter mean? Spotify executive calls out Harry and Meghan after their podcast deal ends

Bill Simmons, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation, has called Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “f***ing grifters” after their multimillion, multiyear deal to make podcasts ended after just 12 episodes.

Simmons, who sold his company to Spotify for £196m in 2020 and gained a leadership role in the process, criticised the couple on his own podcast after their announcement that Archewell, the Sussexes’ audio production company, cut ties with Spotify, after signing a $20m deal with them in 2020. 

On his podcast, the Bill Simmons podcast, he said: “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. ‘The F***ing Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them. I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories … F*** them. The grifters.”

So what does grifter mean and what happened to the deal the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made with Spotify? Here is everything you need to know. 

What does 'grifter' mean? 

According to the Collins Dictionary, the term ‘grifter’ is an informal word used in the US to describe a person “who swindles another out of money”. Essentially, it means that someone has tricked someone else into giving them money, and is also associated with pickpockets, a crooked gambler, a scammer, or a con man. 

According to Urban Dictionary, a grifter is someone who “is somebody who can influence anybody, anywhere, at any time, into doing whatever they choose to have them do, that will result in the grifter's personal gain. Usually monetary, but really anything that benefits him or her somehow.”

What happened to the Spotify deal made by Prince Harry and Meghan? 

On Thursday (15 June) a deal between the media group run by Harry and Meghan, Archewell Audio, and Spotify ended with a mutual agreement. The couple initially signed the agreement in 2020, for a reported US $20 million (or £15.6 million) has produced just one series consisting of 12 episodes. 

The show, called Archetypes, saw Meghan chat with celebrities, historians and experts about the history of stereotypes levelled against women. Archetypes topped podcast charts as the Duchess of Sussex interviewed stars such as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and actors such as Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu and Jameela Jamil. 

In a joint statement, they said: “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series that we made together”. An unnamed source at Variety, who is reportedly familiar with the situation, said the couple wanted to move away from exclusive Spotify distribution, to find a new home for their audio projects. 

However, according to Variety, another source said Spotify expected more content from Archewell Audio, saying that in three years of the deal, there has only been one series. 

Archewell Audio’s company mission is “producing programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world,” as well as “spotlights diverse perspectives and voices” and “builds community through shared experience, narratives and values.”