Harry and Meghan's podcast deal: Spotify and Archewell Audio have 'mutually agreed' to part ways
CNN —
Archewell Audio, the company of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has announced the end of a multi-year partnership with Spotify in a joint statement released to CNN Friday.
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” the statement said.
The Sussexes were among Spotify’s most notable audio personalities, having announced an exclusive partnership with the service in December 2020.
In a news release at the time, Spotify said the pair “will host and produce podcasts that build community through shared experience, narratives, and values.”
The announcement comes just two weeks after Spotify said it had cut 200 jobs within its podcast unit, amounting to 2% of the audio streaming company’s global workforce, in a “strategic realignment.”
Archewell Audio’s multi-year partnership with Spotify was intended to include numerous programs but, ultimately, the couple’s company produced one series and a holiday special.
The couple also have a deal with Netflix. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Their series “Archetypes” aimed to “investigate, dissect and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,” according its description, and featured Meghan’s interviews with celebrity guests including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Trevor Noah.
After moving from Britain to the United States in 2020, Harry and Meghan inked multiple deals to produce content with several of the world’s biggest streaming services, including a multi-year deal with Netflix.
That deal has yielded a six-part documentary on the couple’s own story as well as a docuseries entitled “Live to Lead,” which featured interviews with famous faces such as former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden and the late Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, although a planned animated series “Pearl” was dropped as the streaming giant cut costs.
Source: CNN
