When Harry of England and Meghan Markle decided to step down as active members of the British royal family, most of their privileges ended. This includes a free residence (or several) and a real salary. On their way to California and to continue their rhythm of life, they entered into partnerships with big brands that brought them hefty income, from Netflix to Spotify. But in the three and a half years since she left, some of those contracts have fallen apart. One of the most striking was the one with the Spotify audio application, for which they achieved between 20 and 25 million dollars. The agreement was signed at the end of 2020 and was long-term. But after an unsuccessful project and two and a half years of collaboration, everything ended overnight last June. Nobody gave any explanations, at least not official ones. Until now.
Because recently the company’s managing director, Daniel Ek, spoke about the topic. He did this in an interview with the BBC, in which he discussed topics such as music generated with artificial intelligence or the future of podcasts, explaining that his company is trying to position itself as one of the first options worldwide. And the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be leading the way on this issue. But the company doesn’t seem happy with the product on offer, an interview podcast called Archetypes, a play on words between the name of their eldest son Archie and their foundation Archewell, as well as the term archetypes.
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Ek, a 40-year-old Swede and co-founder of the company, reacted “very diplomatically,” as journalist Zoe Kleinman emphasized in the speech. Kleinman asks him about some of the “big names” he’s had on Spotify, including “the Obamas or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex; They released 12 episodes in two and a half years. Is this worth 18 million pounds?” (20.7 million euros or almost 22 million dollars), says the journalist. “We thought there had to be innovation here. “We thought we could come in and provide a great experience that would bring joy to consumers and also allow new creatives to explore new avenues,” he argues. “And the truth is, some worked and some didn’t. We’ll learn from it and move on and wish everyone we didn’t extend the greatest success from now on.”
With his words, Ek suggests that there wasn’t the innovation they were looking for in this podcast and that “happiness” didn’t reach consumers either. In December 2020, the couple, together with their audio company Archewell Audio, gave a short presentation of their project and a half-hour Christmas special with guests including Sir Elton John and José Andrés. The interviews began in August 2022, ended three months later and comprised a total of 12 episodes. While Prince Harry left the project, Markle was the interviewer for a space that was advertised as a place to “examine, analyze and subvert the labels that attempt to hold women back.” In the conversations, the Duchess spoke with personalities such as the tennis player Serena Williams, the singer Mariah Carey, the actress Issa Rae, the then wife of the Prime Minister of Canada, Sophie Trudeau, the author and author of Sex and the City Candace Bushnell and the comedian Judd Apatow. All 12 episodes remain available on Spotify and have garnered 67,000 views.
Daniel Ek is the first in three and a half months to make an official statement, but not the first to speak out. Earlier this year, American journalist and presenter Bill Simmons, who holds the position of head of innovation and monetization at Spotify, was very critical of the couple on his show called The Bill Simmons Podcast, which he runs on his own platform. He said he was “embarrassed” to be at the side of King Charles III’s youngest son. from England to work at Spotify: “What does he do?” It’s like: What’s your talent? Why are we listening to you? You were born into a royal family and now you’re gone, you’re selling documentaries and stuff, no one cares what you have to say about anything unless you’re talking about the royal family, and on top of that you’re complaining about them. ” In late June, shortly after the Dukes’ connection with Spotify ended, Simmons went one step further. “Damn scammers. “That’s the podcast we should have started with them,” he commented unabashedly. “One night I will get drunk and tell the story of the video call I had with Enrique on Zoom to help him and try to come up with an idea for a podcast with him. It’s one of my best stories.”
Daniel Ek, during an event in Cannes (France), in an archive photo.Antoine Antoniol (Getty Images)
Journalist Ashley Carman, who works for Bloomberg and publishes a weekly newsletter about the music, podcast and audio industries in general, examined the couple’s work environment and also concluded that they didn’t contribute too many creative ideas. “Enrique heard various ideas from others, but above all he was obsessed with his own, particularly one about childhood trauma. The concept: Enrique would interview a number of controversial guests, such as: [el presidente ruso] Wladimir Putin, [el fundador de Facebook] Mark Zuckerberg and [el expresidente de EE UU] Donald Trump on their childhood days and how those experiences shaped them into the adults they are today.” Some bizarre and unrealizable ideas.
In addition, Spotify, like so many other technology companies, especially in the audio sector, is not exactly experiencing its best times. In January, Daniel Ek admitted that they had “invested too ambitiously before revenues increased” and laid off 6% of the workforce, or about 600 people. The move cost between 35 and 45 million euros. In June they said farewell to another 200 employees. After betting on content with renowned celebrities, but also at a high cost, the company realized that this search for innovation and happiness did not bring the expected results.