02 October 2023 , 21:59
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As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry officially abandoned their Archetypes podcast after their Spotify deal collapse, a chief executive from the streaming giant hints the reason it failed was because it "didn't make consumers happy".
The Duchess of Sussex was the host of the podcast that ran for 12 episodes last year. In the award-winning series, Meghan sat down for personal interviews with artists, athletes, and experts discussing the history of stereotypes against women. The stated purpose of the show was to "investigate, dissect and subvert the labels that try to hold women back".
Now, the chief executive of Spotify has shed light on why he feels the podcast was not successful and why the famous couple might've been dropped from their £18million podcast deal. In an interview with BBC the Spotify boss said: "We thought new innovation was needed to happen here. We thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues."
Meghan and Harry's podcast was dropped after airing 12 episodes (Getty Images)He continued: "And the truth of the matter is some of it has worked, some of it hasn't. We're learning from those and we are moving on and we wish all of the ones we didn't renew with the best of success they can have going forward."
This new take comes after many have theorised the reasoning why the couple's podcast was cancelled. Other sources close to the expensive deal previously claimed the podcast was dropped because it didn't produce enough content to warrant the full payment.
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The Sussexes were officially axed from their Spotify deal in June after just one series. Harry and Meghan first agreed to the lucrative deal to host and produce podcasts in late 2020. The news of the deal's end was confirmed in a joint statement from Archewell and Spotify that read: "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together."
Before the podcast was cancelled, it was reported that Prince Harry was interested in interviewing Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Pope Francis and Mark Zuckerberg on the podcast with intentions of asking them more about their personal childhood traumas and upbringings. But before the show was cancelled, Meghan did manage to bring on a number of well-known celebrities including Serena Williams, Mindy Kaling, and Paris Hilton.
After their deal collapsed, the Sussexes attempted to gain exclusive copyright ownership of the name "Archetype". But after numerous requests, the couple were denied permission from the US Patent and Trademark Office as the title had a "likelihood of confusion" with another existing brand.