Spotify boss reveals ‘truth’ about Harry and Meghan’s deal

In a rare interview, the CEO of Spotify has finally revealed what happened with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s $29million dollar deal.

Four months after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Spotify deal - worth an estimated $A29 to $37 million - was axed by “mutual” agreement, Spotify’s chief executive has revealed what ultimately went wrong.

The Duchess released a single podcast consisting of 12 episodes, titled Archetypes, in the two and a half years of signing the contract in 2020.

Archetypes featured a number of high-profile men and women in conversation with Ms Markle, including Mariah Carey, Serena Williams, Mindy Kaling, Paris Hilton, Andy Cohen, Judd Apatow, Issa Rae and Constance Wu. It aimed to “investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back”.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s deal with Spotify ended in June. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

In a rare and recent interview with BBC, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek spoke with presenter Zoe Kleinman about the deal with the Sussexes.

“We thought new innovation was needed to happen here,” he said. “We thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues.

“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.”

Daniel Ek gave a rare interview about Spotify. Picture: AFP/Don Emmert

It was a much more considered response than the one provided by Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation Bill Simmons earlier this year.

“The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with [Harry and Meghan],” he said on his podcast.

“I’ve got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”

Despite Mr Simmons critique, Archetypes did debut strongly, becoming Spotify’s top podcast and winning a People’s Choice Award in December last year.

However, there were reports that the couple did not meet the “productivity benchmarks” and that Spotify executives expected much more.

After the deal ended, the Duke and Duchess moved to trademark the Archetypes title, but after 17 months of legal maneuvering, they ultimately withdrew their filing.

Prince Harry and Meghan still have a Netflix deal, worth an estimated $100 million, that was signed in 2020.

Originally published as Spotify boss reveals ‘truth’ about Harry and Meghan’s deal