The podcast deal Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed with Spotify is finally almost (significantly) paying off. Such as The edge reports, Markle is releasing a podcast series on Spotify this summer through the couple’s production company Archewell Audio. Details weren’t available, but the show will premiere after Harry and Meghan were “encouraged” by discussions about Spotify’s efforts to fight misinformation. The news is a “result of those encounters,” Archewell said.
Harry and Meghan have so far been unenthusiastic about Spotify’s approach. The duo said they have been raising concerns about misinformation since April 2021. Their concerns were heightened when Neil Young, Brené Brown and other creatives began pulling or withholding content from Spotify in protest at the company’s apparent tolerance for COVID-19 misinformation from Joe Rogan’s Podcast. Archewell spokesperson Toya Holness said the company is working with Spotify to develop “policies, practices and strategies” to curb misinformation and improve transparency.
The news may be welcome for Spotify. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed their podcast deal with Spotify in December 2020, but have produced nothing but a Christmas special. Markle’s podcast series could both help Spotify recoup some of its investment and allay the worries it fought against its own podcast partners.
The challenge, of course, is to convince other Spotify-exclusive podcast hosts and networks to follow suit. Spotify has signed some high-profile exclusives, but not all of them have been successful — filmmaker Ava DuVernay abandoned her first-look deal just a year after its announcement. Markle’s podcast may show that some creators are willing to stay, but there are no guarantees that others will be so sure.
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