Spotify podcasts take another blow as fan favourite Milena Sanchez quits hit show The Receipts – after streaming giant’s $1bn bet on star names such as Harry and Meghan flopped

Spotify has taken yet another hit to its podcast output after fan-favourite Milena Sanchez announced she’s leaving the hugely popular Receipts podcast after seven years.

The show, loved by listeners for its unfiltered, candid conversations on relationships, family, and career will now be hosted by the remaining two presenters, Audrey Indome and Tolani Shoneye.

It comes after multi-million-dollar deals with the likes of Harry and Meghan, Kim Kardashian and the Obamas coincided with a huge net loss for the subscription streaming service – including $565 million hemorrhaged over just six months this year.

Milena – who is also a singer-songwriter – from London shared a message about her departure on social media.

‘I wanted to share with everyone that after some careful thought, I’ve decided to leave The Receipts Podcast,’ she penned in a post on X – formerly known as Twitter.

‘It’s been a difficult decision that has weighed heavy on my heart for some time now and though it’s been tough, I believe it’s what’s best for me.

‘The podcast will continue and I truly wish Audrey and Tolly all the best with it- making the show with them has been a truly life-changing experience.

‘I’m deeply grateful for the love and support that has surrounded me over the years, I’ll forever gold a special place in my heart for our listeners.

‘Thank you all so much, love you always.’ 

The Receipts podcast, which saw listeners sending in their dilemmas for the trio to advise on, was a hit for Spotify.

As of 2021, it had more than 11 million listeners across all podcast platforms and was the first podcast hosted and produced by women of colour to reach number one in the Apple Podcast charts.

According to Curtis Brown, The Receipts Podcast, which launched in 2016, has more than 100,000 weekly listens on Spotify alone. The girls signed an exclusive deal with the platform in 2019.

It is not currently known why Milena has decided to leave, however many on social media have speculated that there has been a ‘fallout’ among the presenters, with listeners claiming they have felt she was often left out of conversations. 

‘I think it’s v wild and telling that nearly all the commentary regarding Milena leaving receipts is people saying that 1) she brought nuance, empathy and new perspectives they wont be able to replicate and 2) they aren’t surprised she left bc they felt she wasn’t listened to,’ one fan wrote.

‘Gutted Milena is leaving the receipts,’ a second added. ‘She did so much in bringing an open-minded, queer take to the table – love T&A but as other ppl have said, Milena brought a necessary balance to the pod and I 100% noticed her input often getting downright ignored in recent eps which is sad.’

A third remarked: ‘As an AVID listener of the receipts it was so obvious that milena was being left out of the dynamic.’ 

MailOnline has reached out the The Receipts Podcast’s representatives for comment. 

With fans heartbroken at Milena’s departure, this is likely to add to Spotify’s troubles as its podcast empire is fast crumbling fast despite exclusive signings with some of the most famous people on the planet.

Earlier this month, the company’s chief executive has suggested that Harry and Meghan’s £18million podcast deal collapsed because it failed to make consumers happy after the Sussexes made just 12 episodes in two-and-a-half years.

Daniel Ek, who was making a rare media appearance almost four months after it was announced that the Archetypes podcast would not be renewed for a second season, admitted that some of Spotify’s innovative ideas have not gone to plan. 

Meghan’s multi-million-pound Spotify deal was axed in June following a ‘mutual’ decision between the streaming giant and Archewell Audio – the Duchess and Prince Harry‘s company.

Sources close to the multi-million pound deal – which was signed by the couple in 2020 – said it was was dropped after the pair did not produce enough content to warrant the full payout. 

Shedding new light on the decision not to renew Harry and Meghan’s deal, Spotify boss Ek told the BBC: ‘We thought new innovation was needed to happen here. We thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues.’

He added: ‘And the truth of the matter is some of it has worked, some of it hasn’t. We’re learning from those and we are moving on and we wish all of the ones we didn’t renew with the best of success they can have going forward.’

Ek was speaking to the BBC’s Zoe Kleinman who had questioned him on whether 12 podcasts across two-and-a-half years from the Sussexes was worth £18million. She said his response had been ‘very diplomatic’. 

Meghan’s podcast was one of the most high-profile casualties at the time. It came after Spotify’s deal with Barack and Michell Obama’s production company also ended last year.

On a conference call with financial analysts earlier this year, Ek conceded mistakes were made during a spree of more than $1billion as it attempted to establish itself as the top competitor in the industry.

After it was revealed that Harry and Meghan’s podcast would not be renewed, Spotify exec Bill Simmons described the couple as ‘f****** grifters’, an Americanism for swindlers. 

Simmons, Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, condemned the pair in an episode of his own podcast.

‘The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them,’ he said.

‘I’ve 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.’

Meanwhile, the Obamas also cut ties with Spotify last year after clashing with the top brass over exclusivity and how much they were expected to appear in episodes. 

The former first couple defected to iTunes, Amazon and Vudu, where their podcast Higher Ground is now streamed, after previously signing with Spotify in 2019.

Kim K’s eight-episode podcast The System launched in October 2022  – but it went quiet just a month later. 

By far the biggest podcast deal Spotify has is with Joe Rogan, who was paid an estimated $200 million as part of an exclusive multi-year deal in 2020.