Must Read
Baby Lullabies Overtake Meghan Markle’s Archetypes Episode on Spotify Chart
A collection of soothing baby lullabies has surpassed Meghan Markle's latest episode of Archetypes, currently sitting at number 77 on the US Spotify chart.
Despite being ranked number 22 overall, Meghan Markle's podcast seems to have lost subscribers in the US, with the recent decline overshadowed by the popularity of the lullaby collection.
The Duchess of Sussex's digital offering, which is now 10 episodes in, was once regarded as the platform's top program.
However, as of 1pm today, Meghan's most recent episode, part of an alleged £18m deal between Spotify and her and Prince Harry, only reached number 77 on the US charts.
In this episode, she conversed with American-Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo and British actress Jameela Jamil on the topic of “The Audacity of the Activist.”
Surprisingly, the lullabies compilation titled “8 Hours of Soothing Music for Newborns to Fall Asleep” has outperformed it.
The podcast series as a whole currently holds the 22nd position on the American chart, having previously claimed the top spot.
New episodes are typically released every Tuesday, accompanied by the unveiling of the guests.
With the increased interest in fresh content, it is possible that this will contribute to an improvement in the series' overall chart position.
Back in September, there were allegations that Spotify manipulated its official podcast chart to maintain Meghan Markle's top position, even though she had fewer daily listeners compared to other celebrities like Joe Rogan.
While the first two episodes featuring Mariah Carey and Serena Williams ranked as low as 25, they never surpassed the fifth position in Spotify's own top episodes' rankings.
Despite this, Archetypes was recognized as the leading podcast in the US, the UK, and all major English-speaking markets on Spotify.
Customers began questioning whether the corporation manipulated its main chart or altered its numbers to keep Meghan Markle at the top.
MailOnline reached out to Spotify for comment, but no response was received.
The top podcast chart, one of Spotify's two main charts, is generated using various metrics such as recent unique listeners and the podcaster's status as a rising newcomer.
On the other hand, the episode rankings are solely based on the number of unique listeners on a given day.
Interestingly, Meghan's most recent episode with Mariah Carey, released on Tuesday, ranked 12th in the episode chart, while her first show with Serena Williams reached number 25.
Nonetheless, Archetypes held the number one position in the podcast chart in the US during September.
However, according to Spotify's own data, the parenting podcast hosted by Joe Rogan, Rob Beckett, and Josh Whitcomb, as well as the Nearly Weds podcast hosted by Jamie Lang and Sophie Haboo, garnered more British listeners than Archetypes that month.
These discrepancies in rankings have left listeners wondering if the industry is manipulating the charts.
One American subscriber questioned why Archetypes is number one in the Spotify US chart when both releases are much lower in the episode chart.
Another Twitter user responded, suggesting that Spotify may be manipulating the charts due to the rumored £18 million deal the Sussexes received for their content.
They added that Spotify could be trying to justify the deal after facing criticism.
Industry insiders speculate that Spotify's decision to keep Archetypes at the top of its charts may be linked to the substantial investment made for Meghan Markle's podcast.
The main Spotify podcast ranking allows them to promote their new shows, and they could be leveraging this for Meghan, a broadcasting expert with decades of experience, according to an industry expert who spoke to MailOnline.
As the publication of Prince Harry's Candid Memoir is scheduled for January 2023, just months before King Charles III's coronation, Harry and Meghan are hoping that time will help ease tensions surrounding their book.
