The couple have made just one podcast show since signing the $20 million deal in 2020.
Spotify’s exclusive podcast deal with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle has reached its conclusion, with the deal being cancelled following the couple’s producing of just one standalone series.
In a joint statement released by the streaming giant and Archiwell Studios, Harry and Meghan’s production outfit, the companies announced the cessation of the deal;
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”, it read.
According to Variety, both Harry and Meghan are now on the look out for an alternative home to house their audio content.
The one show produced by the pair’s audio production company, entitled ‘Archetypes’, did however do big numbers on the streaming platform.
Deconstructing the history of societal stereotypes about women, the series premiered in August of last year and rose to the top of Spotify’s podcast charts in multiple regions.
Moreover, despite the amicable nature of the companies joint press release, Spotify are said to be extremely disappointed with the outcome of the deal, having expected more content produced than just one series.
The audio streamer shelled out a reported $20 million fee back in August of 2020, in a bid to secure exclusivity over content produced by Archiwell Studios.
It is not the first podcasting deal with big-name celebrities to go awry for Spotify though, with the company opting against renewing another husband and wife duo in the form of Barack and Michelle Obama last year.
The former US President and First Lady also had an exclusive rights deal with Spotify, however it too failed to deliver the expected success the platform had hoped for.
In an unrelated move, Spotify earlier this month announced that it had opted to lay off around 200 employees from its podcasting division, in what was labelled a restructuring of its podcast operations.
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