There was just no reason to continue

There was just no reason for this streaming company to continue its podcast deal with the alliterate one and her husband.

There are dozens of other podcasts on the platform they don’t pay, who had the exact same D list guests and reality stars on their shows.

Meghan Markle

Prince Harry

Spotify

Harry And Meghan’s Spotify Podcast Deal Ends

Spotify has ended its podcast deal with Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, the two sides announced Thursday, ending the multi-million-dollar partnership after it produced only one season of Markle’s Archetypes podcast and as Spotify restructures its podcast division, which resulted in layoffs at the company earlier this month.

Spotify and Archewell Audio, Harry and Markle’s audio production company, said in a statement the two sides had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

Harry and Markle, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, originally signed with Spotify in December 2020, in a deal that Spotify said would “elevate underrepresented voices.”

The podcasting deal resulted in only one series, Markle’s podcast, Archetypes, which ran for one season starting in August 2022, featuring interviews with such guests as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton and Trevor Noah.

Archetypes became the top podcast on Spotify following its debut and won a People’s Choice Award in December, but sources cited by Variety said Spotify expected more content from the podcast deal.

Other sources cited by Variety said Harry and Markle wanted to “find a new home” for their audio content, and a representative for Markle’s talent agency, WME, told the Wall Street Journal the Duchess of Sussex “is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”

The announcement comes days after Spotify announced it would lay off approximately 200 people as it restructures its podcasting division, though sources cited by Variety said ending the deal with Harry and Markle was unrelated to the realignment.

Approximately $20 million. That’s how much Archewell Audio’s podcasting deal with Spotify was worth, according to the Journal. The exact figure is unclear, with industry sources cited by Forbes previously valuing it at closer to $15 million to $18 million, and other reports putting it as high as $25 million. The Sussexes did not meet the “productivity benchmarks” needed to get the full payout from the deal by the time it ended, according to sources cited by the Journal. – Source