Spotify Has Terminated Its Podcast Deal With Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

May 2024 · 2 minute read

After an award-winning first season with many A-list guests, ​​Meghan Markle's podcast Archetypes with Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex has been cancelled. On Thursday, Spotify announced it would be ending its lucrative, multi-year deal with Prince Harry and Meghan.

In a joint statement, representatives from both Spotify and Archewell Audio shared that the two “have mutually agreed to part ways” and are “proud” of the work that unfolded with Archetypes — the first and only series in the Archewell’s podcast deal with Spotify.

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Archetypes first launched in August of 2022 with Meghan as the host of the series, striving to "investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.” The podcast featured established guests like Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, Jameela Jamil, and Paris Hilton during its 12-episode season.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala

Despite the success of season 1 — it won the top podcast award at the People's Choice Awards and had the highest first-week of streams on last year’s Spotify Wrapped list — producers were told that Spotify would not be moving forward with a second season.

Meghan called Archetypes “a labor of love” and said that the platform allowed her to “dig my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative."

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“And I loved digging deep into a meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them," she added.

It's the end of the Spotify–Archewell relationship but the era of Archewell Audio is not over. Markle and Archewell are looking to “continue to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform,” a representative told Wall Street Journal.

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