Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT) has cancelled a podcasting deal with Harry and Meghan worth US$20mln after just one series of the Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes.
A joint statement from Archewell, the Duke and Duchess’s global change organisation, and Spotify said the decision was mutual and that all parties were incredibly proud of the work they had created.
Meghan will continue to explore her Archetypes podcast through other avenues, a spokesperson for the Sussex’s revealed.
Running for twelve episodes, the podcast interviewed celebrities like Serena Williams and Paris Hilton discussing the issue of “labels that hold women back”.
Upon its release last August, it was one of the most popular Spotify podcasts, but deals for a second season reportedly “stalled for months”.
Earlier this month, the music streaming service sacked 200 workers from its podcast division.
Focus will now switch to “expanding partnership efforts” to help improve relationships with leading podcasters from around the globe, Sahar Elhabashi, head of Spotify podcast division said.
At the start of 2023, Harry released his autobiography Spare which its publisher claimed was the best-selling non-fiction book launch ever.