Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
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Spotify is not renewed archetypes The platform’s exclusive podcast from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio, for season two, according to people familiar with the matter.
The podcast, hosted by the Duchess of Sussex, was released last August and featured guests like Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, Paris Hilton, Isa Rae, and Michaela J. Rodriguez during its 12-episode first season. The series also had the highest first-week streams at podcast launch in the US, according to a Spotify Wrapped list last year.
models It was released as part of Archewell’s multi-year exclusive deal with Spotify, first announced in late 2020. In the years since, the partnership has resulted in just one season of models and a holiday special released in December 2020, around the time the deal was announced.
As a result of lower production compared to other Spotify exclusive deals, which typically require multiple series or multiple episodes of a show released on a regular basis, the agreement between the two companies is expected to expire, anyone familiar with the matter said. Hollywood Reporter.
“The team behind The Archetypes remains proud of the podcast they created on Spotify. Meghan continues to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform,” said a representative for WME, which represents Markle and Archewell, the Wall Street Journal, whichever comes first mentioned news.
Spotify declined to comment. An Archewell spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The end of the Spotify-Archewell relationship would mark the latest departure of high-profile talent from Spotify, which ushered in a short-lived era of high-spending podcast deals starting in 2019 as the company sought to expand its podcasting business. But as the market slowed and Spotify faced pressure to turn a profit on its audio business, the company has backed away from its audio spending and has grown wiser with pricey talent deals over the past year.
Other creators and studios whose deals have expired or have exited to other companies include Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground, and Bren Brown and Esther Beryl. Jemele Hill’s exclusive deal with Spotify is also expected to expire later this summer.
Earlier this month, Spotify cut about 200 jobs in its podcast division and merged its in-house studios Gimlet and Parcast into a single brand, Spotify Studios.
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