Spotify terminates agreement with Duke and Duchess of Sussex for podcast production

Spotify and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have come to a mutual decision to end their partnership, which involved Harry and Meghan producing podcasts for the company. The deal, which was agreed upon in 2020, was reportedly valued at $25 million.

Meghan hosts a podcast called Archetypes. It tried to confront stereotypes of women by talking about Meghan and the likes of Serena Williams and Mariah Carey. The show ran for 12 episodes last year and was the only podcast made by the couple’s Archewell Audio business for Spotify.

Although Spotify and Archewell Audio said they were “proud of the series we made together” and the show won a People’s Choice award, the former has decided not to renew Archetypes. Meghan will “continue to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform,” an Archewell spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.

The Spotify deal was one of the biggest commercial deals Harry and Meghan made after stepping down from their royal duties. The couple looked for media contracts in the hope that they would become financially independent, but the results have been mixed. Netflix canceled the Meghan-created animated show before production was complete, but a documentary about the couple appeared on the streaming service late last year. Harry & Meghan quickly became one of the most watched documentaries on Netflix.

Meanwhile, Spotify recently changed its podcast strategy. Earlier this month, it laid off 200 people from its podcast teams and merged Gimlet Media and Parcast into a new division, Spotify Studios. The company continues to produce some original podcasts through Spotify Studios and The Ringer. However, it seems to be more focused on expanding deals with high-profile podcasters around the world (like Joe Rogan and Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper) and supporting amateur creators in the space with tools like Anchor.