Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s production company, Archewell Audio, and Spotify have “mutually agreed” to end what was initially intended to be a “multi-year partnership.”
In 2020, Spotify and Archewell announced their exclusive partnership that would include “numerous” programs. However, the break-up comes less than a year after the Duke and Duchess’ production company released their debut podcast, Archetypes, hosted by Meghan Markle. To date, the only programs that Archewell released under the partnership are Archetypes in 2022 and a 30-minute holiday special released in 2020.
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” the companies said in a joint statement to Entrepreneur on Friday.
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Launched in August last year, Archetypes featured high-profile celebrities such as Serena Williams, Trevor Noah, and Paris Hilton, and was aimed at “exploring and subverting the labels that hold women back,” per the Archewell description. It topped the Spotify charts in seven countries in September 2022 and even reeled in the title of the top podcast at the 2022 People’s Choice Awards.
But alas, the podcast’s fate remains unknown as it is unclear if Archetypes will continue on another platform. The nature of the split between Archewell and Spotify also remains unknown.
Earlier this month, Spotify announced 200 job cuts within its podcast sector as part of a “strategic realignment” within the audio unit, the New York Times reported at the time.