UPDATED: Spotify’s exclusive podcast deal with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has come to an end — with the couple having delivered just one show under the agreement.
Spotify and Archewell Audio, the couple’s podcast production shingle, said Thursday in a joint statement that they are ending their pact. “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” the companies said.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have wanted to move away from exclusive Spotify distribution to find a new home for their audio projects.
Another source said that Spotify expected more content from Archewell Audio — noting that nearly three years after inking the pact, they have delivered only one series, essentially putting the overall deal in limbo. That show is Markle’s “Archetypes,” in which she deconstructs the history of societal stereotypes about women, which premiered in August 2022 and hit No. 1 on the company’s charts in multiple countries.
Archewell Audio first inked the exclusive podcast pact with Spotify in late 2020, in a deal worth about $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company’s mission is “producing programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world,” as well as “spotlights diverse perspectives and voices” and “builds community through shared experience, narratives and values.”
Another one of Spotify’s high-profile exclusive podcast pacts was with Barack and Michelle Obamas, which ended a year ago. In that case, Spotify said it declined to renew the deal; sources said the Obamas wanted their podcast programming to be distributed as widely as possible and not exclusive to Spotify. The couple’s Higher Ground subsequently entered into a first-look pact with Audible.
Spotify earlier this month announced it was laying off 200 employees as part of a restructuring of its podcast operations. That came after the exit earlier in the year of Dawn Ostroff, chief content and advertising business officer, who previously headed Spotify’s podcast business. The company’s podcast reorg is aimed at increasing “our focus on the millions of creators building audiences and businesses on our platform,” Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify’s VP, head of podcast business, wrote in a note to staffers. She added that Spotify remains “committed to original programming.”
The looming end of Archewell Audio’s pact with Spotify is unrelated to the podcast group’s restructuring, a source familiar with the situation said.
