Spotify is having second thoughts about whatever Harry and his wife were planning for their
multimillion dollar podcast.
I'm going to outline the reasons why this was never a good idea, and how this is going
to end up as another ghost project for them.
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It's no wonder the Harkles decided to jump into the content creation bandwagon with a
podcast.
Many people from many industries, professions and crafts know that content creation can
be a very profitable business.
Now, what exactly is podcast, and what is the kind of content that Harry and Meghan,
err... have the intent to create?
In principle, a podcast is a series of episodes in audio format.
You can have video podcasts, but in essence, people should be able to consume them just
by listening.
There are no rules about what kind of content the podcast can be about, but for the sake
of simplicity, let's focus on the kind of podcasts that Harry and Meghan could make.
It's obvious that Spotify is trying to capitalize on the fame of the Montecito Dwellers.
So, the first hook to attract people is the names of the hosts, in this case.
A podcast can be as simple as turning on the mic and storytelling something about your
own life, but of course, most probably you are going to run out of interesting anecdotes
really, really fast.
And I think nobody is interested in listening again to Meghan talking about her broken car
door.
And, judging by the amount of times she has given the exact same anecdote throughout the
years, well, I think she doesn't have that many interesting anecdotes about her life.
Unless, of course, she opts for a fiction podcast, which she has already proven herself
to be very proFIcient at it.
As for Harry, I'm sure he's saving any personal anecdote, not yet known to the public, for
his memoir.
Again, maybe he will venture into fiction writing after all.
So, if Spotify is scrambling to assemble a podcast with the Harkles but NOT ABOUT the
Harkles... then, it must be some kind of interview.
And interview podcasts are quite popular today.
You are the host of your show, you invite guests to talk about a particular topic and
you work as a moderator for the discussion.
This is a format that allows for a lot of flexibility, because the topics can be as
varied as you want, as long as you can land good guests to attend your program.
And well... the wife's ability to SUMmon people for her projects, well... she's got not exactly
a winning track record.
The real issue here is that for general content creation, it's much better if you pick a topic
that you can focus on.
And that is no matter how famous you are.
For example, Tony Robbins' podcast focuses on personal and business success, while Joe
Rogan's podcast is an open discussion of virtually any topic he fancies.
But the safest bet is to pick a topic to focus on.
Parenting, or women empowerment, or how to use your acting experience in real life, anything.
In fact, this is the greatest recommendation if you want to start a podcast.
Focus on a single topic, or what is called a niche.
Now, let's say that Meghan and Harry pick the topic 'women empowerment', which would
make sense, because that's also the topic of Meghan's animated project, Pearl.
We have a bigger obstacle.
And that obstacle, is Meghan and Harry themselves.
Let's say they focus on one topic, and Spotify's production team manages to secure great guests.
I don't know, maybe they have compromising pictures to blackmail those guests, but when
you have 30 million on the line, then any strategy is fair game, I guess.
A podcast is, in many ways, NOT an interview.
It can have an interview format, but it's usually encouraged that the hosts don't just
ask questions but actually contribute to the argument.
After all, the pillar of any content creation should always be the personality of the creator.
In this case, the hosts.
And that's why the host of a podcast must be an excellent communicator, and at the same
time be engaging with the topic.
You have to be an excellent listener, you gotta have a really quick mind to react to
your guest's anecdotes, you have to know body language...
Well, in this regard, I'm sure Harry and his wife have learned a lot watching my videos.
But that ability to listen and communicate is not something that just pops in your skill
toolbox.
Talking about Tony Robbins and Joe Rogan, they developed those skills for decades.
Just knowing how active listening works, we already know that Meghan is going to have
real trouble paying attention to what other people say, while her mind is really busy
trying to figure out how to make it about herself.
Needless to say, you need quick thinking and charisma, something that, well...
some were born with not the right genetic combination of those inGREdients.
But the most important word for any podcast to be successful, is wit.
Keen, quick intelligence channeled by a boatload of empathy.
Because the trick is guiding your guest's ideas into something that you know your audience
is going to like.
There is no point on just inviting someone, making them talk about a topic and then calling
it a day.
That is simply not going to work.
And it takes a special kind of sensibility to speak to a person that is wiser than you,
smarter, more experienced, and have the right conversation to extract the very best for
your audience.
Because that's the magic behind a successful podcast.
It's not 20 questions.
It's a conversation.
And what Harry and Meghan have shown so far about themselves is that they are rather tone
deaf.
We are talking about tone deafness level of "If you are not happy with your job, you should
quit".
Now, I would really love to understand the rationale of Spotify executives when they
decided to secure this contract.
What were they thinking?
Maybe they had too much nose candy that day.
But I mentioned that one of the hurdles was finding guests.
And most probably, Spotify's production team is going to take care of that.
Well, no amount of blackmailing can prevent personalities to decline any invitations to
The Harkles podcast, for a very simple concept.
Association.
It's a natural phenomenon that we tend to associate people that hang out together.
And that's why it's so critical to be careful who you hang out with, in the land of the
paparazzi.
This is the point of view of the person on the other side of the mic.
OK, I got invited to this podcast with Harry and Meghan.
But now I'm wondering...
Am I really interested on being associated with these two?
That's when you make an assessment of the person's track record.
And, since both Meghan and Harry are no strangers to scandals, it would not be hard to imagine
that there would be more scandals in the future.
And, since the internet never forgets, you never know when something that you said, spontaneously,
on a live conversation can come back and bite you at a later date.
These are the reasons why The Harkle's podcast is going to be a flop.
And you might be wondering again, what kind of nose candy was that?
I'm sure that Spotify just wanted to act fast, secure a deal and then figure out everything
else later.
That's OK.
They gave the Harkles' production company time and space to do something, anything in
2021.
But since there was nothing beyond a single episode produced, they are taking matters
into their own hands.
Because there's also the factor of being relevant.
And the numbers don't lie.
Meghan and Harry are still the two most searched figures related to the Royal Family, while
NOT being part of the Royal Family.
But that doesn't make them influential, or much less bankable in terms of new subscribers
for this streaming platform.
So, whatever notoriety they have now, Spotify knows that time is running out.
I think they would be much better creating a reality show, maybe with the name "Hanging
out with the Harkles".
I would watch that show.
SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
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My name is Jesús Enrique Rosas and it will always be a pleasure, my body language buddies!
Much Love, and Bliss.