Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Part Ways With Spotify
Harry and Meghan’s production company is parting ways with Spotify, two and a half years after they announced a partnership with them. This deal with Spotify was one of the first deals the couple made after leaving their royal roles.
In a joint statement, Spotify and the Sussexs’ production company confirmed to have parted ways on mutual agreement. The statement read, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
This news comes within the year of the debut of Sussexs’ podcast “Archetypes”. It was a 12-episode original series that dissected the stereotypes and labels women face. Meghan and featured renowned personalities like Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, Issa Rae, Mindy Kaling, Serena Williams, and others hosted the podcast. It was the second podcast ever made by the company, with the first being their debut podcast.
The very first podcast released by the couple was during the holidays of 2020, just after signing the deal with the company. It was a holiday special podcast that had several celebrities, activists, intellectuals, and athletes reflecting on the year of the pandemic 2020 and their positive expectations for the upcoming year.
This decision to part ways means Archetypes will not have a second season. This is shocking since the podcast was well received and won a People’s Choice Award for the top podcast in 2022. It also topped the Spotify charts in seven countries, so that is something.
Regarding the podcast, Meghan had shared her feelings on the Archwell website, saying, “I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative. And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them, and with each of you listening.”
It was previously confirmed that the podcast would have a second season. The news was even reported by The Wall Street Journal and many other media outlets. However, representatives have now confirmed that the production will not move forward.
Less than two weeks earlier, Spotify, like other tech companies, announced that it was trimming around 200 jobs, around 2% of the workforce. This is the second time in six months that Spotify has made such an announcement. Earlier, the company announced it was laying off 6% of its global workforce.
However, a spokesperson told NBC that these layoffs and the decision to end the deal with the Sussexes were not related.
The couple had reportedly signed the Spotify deal for $20 million. When the deal was first announced, the couple made a joint statement saying, “What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction.”
The couple has not made any statements as of now. Also, Prince Harry is in London suing the publisher of the Daily Mirror for invading his privacy to score front-page scoops on his life.
