DONALD Trump Jr has mercilessly mocked Meghan and Harry’s $25M podcast deal with Spotify, as musicians fume over the lucrative agreement.
Sharing a New York Post article with the headline ‘Harry and Meghan’s $25M Spotify deal a ‘kick in the teeth’ to musicians’, the ex-president’s son tweeted “Stop oppressing them!!!!”
The jibe was in relation to the recent news that musicians are unimpressed with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lucrative deal with Spotify.
The pair are producing feel-good podcasts for the platform, which has been criticized for its payment model for artists, many of whom are being paid less than a penny per stream when their songs are played online.
Famed musicians including Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks and 150 others called upon the UK government this week to overhaul the way streaming platforms pay musicians.
Many artists were up in arms about Spotify boss Horacio Gutierrez telling Parliament that Harry and Meghan’s deal would create a “virtuous cycle” that would help to get more people on the site.
Gutierrez suggested the influx of new subscribers that the Sussexes would bring in would in turn help struggling musicians garner more streams.
However, a number of such musicians have spoken out in outrage against the suggestion.
“I’ve been writing songs since I was 12 years old,” British singer-songwriter Callum Gardner told the Daily Star.
“I don’t get paid from Spotify, it’s never broken even from 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.”
A second young musician, Harrison Rhys, meanwhile, called Meghan and Harry’s deal with the streaming giant an “unethical kick in the teeth”.
“I believe what Spotify have 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 continued: “In reality who wouldn’t want to accept that sort of money to have their podcast broadcast and it is likely to be a positive thing for their listeners as the Sussexes definitely are doing a lot of good with their projects around the world.
“But this last year has been the most difficult one for musicians where many have had the majority of their income lost so I feel this is a kick in the teeth.”
Two social media campaigns, #BrokenRecord and #FixStreaming, have also sought to pressure Spotify into changing how it pays musicians.
Musicians’ Union deputy general secretary Naomi Pohl told the Star: “Most streaming revenue benefits large corporations like the major labels at the expense of artists making a decent living.
“The time has come for change and we are hopeful the UK government are listening and that we fix streaming and get a better deal for all music makers.”
Prior to his tweet on Monday, Donald Trump Jr.’s father, former President Donald Trump, previously voiced his dislike of Duchess Meghan.
When asked by The Celeb Report in 2019 whether he was aware that Meghan had previously called him “divisive” and “misogynistic”, he responded that he didn’t know “she was nasty”.
In the build up the the 2020 election last year, Trump also said during a White House press conference that he’s “not a fan of Meghan’s”.
“I’m not a fan of hers. And I would say this — and she probably has heard that — but I wish a lot of luck to Harry because he’s going to need it,” he said.
