Spotify’s unique podcast take care of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is probably going ending — with the couple having delivered only one present below the settlement, Variety has confirmed.
Reps for Spotify and Archewell Audio, the couple’s podcast manufacturing shingle, declined to remark.
According to a supply acquainted with the state of affairs, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have needed to transfer away from unique Spotify distribution to discover a new dwelling for his or her audio initiatives.
Another supply mentioned that Spotify anticipated extra content material from Archewell Audio — noting that almost three years after inking the pact, they’ve delivered just one sequence, primarily placing the general deal in limbo. That present is Markle’s “Archetypes,” wherein she deconstructs the historical past of societal stereotypes about girls, which premiered in August 2022 and hit No. 1 on the corporate’s charts in a number of nations.
Archewell Audio first inked the unique podcast pact with Spotify in late 2020, in a deal value about $20 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The firm’s mission is “producing programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world,” in addition to “spotlights diverse perspectives and voices” and “builds community through shared experience, narratives and values.”
Another one in all Spotify’s high-profile unique podcast pacts was with Barack and Michelle Obamas, which ended a 12 months in the past. In that case, Spotify mentioned it declined to renew the deal; sources mentioned the Obamas needed their podcast programming to be distributed as extensively as attainable and not unique to Spotify. The couple’s Higher Ground subsequently entered right into a first-look pact with Audible.
Spotify earlier this month introduced it was shedding 200 staff as a part of a restructuring of its podcast operations. That got here after the exit earlier within the 12 months of Dawn Ostroff, chief content material and promoting enterprise officer, who beforehand headed Spotify’s podcast enterprise. The firm’s podcast reorg is geared toward rising “our focus on the millions of creators building audiences and businesses on our platform,” Sahar Elhabashi, Spotify’s VP, head of podcast enterprise, wrote in a observe to staffers. She added that Spotify stays “committed to original programming.”
The looming finish of Archewell Audio’s pact with Spotify is unrelated to the podcast group’s restructuring, a supply acquainted with the state of affairs mentioned.
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