Podcast deal Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sign with Spotify finally near the left gill (significant). Equal The Verge report, Markle will release a podcast series on Spotify this summer through the pair’s production company Archewell Audio. Details were not available, but the show will premiere after Harry and Meghan have been “encouraged” by discussions about Spotify’s efforts to combat misinformation. Archewell said the news was “a result of those encounters”.
Harry and Meghan have so far been unimpressed with Spotify’s approach. The duo said they were expressed concern about misinformation as of April 2021. Their worries became even more urgent when Neil Young, Brené Brown, and other advertisers have begun pulling or withholding content from Spotify in protest at the company’s apparent disapproval of COVID-19 misinformation from Joe Rogan’s podcast. Archewell spokeswoman Toya Holness said the company is working with Spotify to develop “policies, practices and strategies” to curb misinformation and improve transparency.
News may be welcome for Spotify. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed their podcast deal with Spotify in December 2020, but haven’t produced anything but a holiday special. Markle’s podcast series could both help Spotify recoup some of its investment and address concerns about battle with its own podcast partners.
The challenge, of course, is convincing other Spotify-exclusive podcast hosts and networks to follow suit. Spotify has signed a number of premium exclusives, but not all have been successful – filmmaker Ava DuVernay exit her first transaction just a year later announce it. Markle’s podcast may show some creators are willing to stick around, but there’s no guarantee that others will be quite as confident.
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