Spotify ends $20M deal with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle after one season of 'Archetypes'

Spotify has cut ties with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they released just one podcast from their reported $20 million deal. The lack of output reportedly played a part in the termination of their partnership.

In a joint statement, representatives for Spotify and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Audio said on Thursday: "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from WME, the talent agency that the Duchess of Sussex signed with earlier this year, told the Wall Street Journal, "The team behind 'Archetypes' remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed a multiyear exclusive deal with Spotify to release original content under their self-founded company Archewell Audio in 2020. "Archetypes," the podcast the duchess hosted, served as the first and only series released.

The 12-episode series premiered on the audio-streaming platform in August 2022 and guests included Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, Mariah Carey, Constance Wu, Mindy Kaling, Issa Rae, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Trevor Noah. It was a success in its first season, grabbing the number one spot in the U.K., U.S.A., Ireland, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand on Spotify's international charts two days after its release.

The series tackled the tropes and the stereotypes that hold women back. It even won a People's Choice Award for pop podcast of 2022. Meghan Markle responded to the award at the time in a statement posted on the Archewell website.

"Thank you to all the supporters and fans of Archetypes who voted for us for this special People's Choice Award. I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative. And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them, and with each of you listening."

She added that "it has been such a labor of love with an amazing team who were each instrumental in helping to bring this series to life." The Duchess of Sussex was also named a digital media national winner for the 48th Annual Gracie Awards for her "Archetypes" podcast.

However, Spotify ended its partnership with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle because they were not able to deliver their end of the deal. The Hollywood Reporter cited a source with knowledge of the matter and said, "The end of the partnership was in part due to Archewell's low output of content, given that Spotify typically requires multiple series or multiple episodes of a show released on a regular basis for its exclusive podcast deals."

In the three years since they signed the contract in 2020, they only released just one season of "Archetypes" and a holiday special in December 2020, which had Elton John, Tyler Perry, Stacey Abrams, James Corden, and more as guests. Their son Prince Archie even had a cameo.

Meanwhile, Variety cited another insider who said that the couple "wanted to move away from exclusive Spotify distribution to find a new home for their audio projects." The move according to the publication, mirrors Barack and Michelle Obama's decision to part ways with Spotify last year because they wanted to distribute their podcast "Higher Ground" as widely as possible. The Obamas later inked a deal with Amazon's Audible.

Aside from Spotify, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also signed a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix in 2020. They have so far released two shows: the "Harry & Meghan" and "Live to Lead" docuseries in 2022. Later in the summer this year they will release another docuseries called "Heart of Invictus."