Real reason Spotify terminated £15m deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (2025)

Spotify terminated its lucrative deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle's new podcast launches today, but fans will know she has plenty of experience in this field. Just months after stepping back from the Royal Family in 2020, Meghan, 43, and her husband Prince Harry, 40, signed a lucrative deal with audio streaming service Spotify. The couple's venture, Archewell Audio, was worth a staggering £15.6 million – one of the largest deals for a newly formed podcast show.

At the time, industry insiders hailed the Sussexes' partnership with Spotify as "a perfect fit" for the streaming giant's strategy to expand its global audience, which includes 320 million monthly active users. Under the terms of the deal, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were signed on to produce and host "programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world" in the form of podcasts that championed diverse voices.

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Archetypes was cancelled after just one series (Image: Spotify)

The first programme they released was Archetypes, a 12-part series hosted by Meghan which featured a number of celebrity guests including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Mindy Kaling.

However, in 2023, less than one year after it was released, it was confirmed that Archetypes would not be returning for a second series, with Spotify and Archewell Audio announcing they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”.

The contract was reportedly terminated because there wasn't "a big enough audience" for the former Suit star's podcast. More than two years on since the release of Archetypes, Meghan has now launched her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder in collaboration with Lemonada Media.

The podcast allows audiences "to be a fly on the wall as Meghan sits down for candid conversations with female founders and friends about the success, the struggles, and the never-before-told stories of building a business".

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Meghan has now launched her new podcast (Image: Archetypes)

New episodes of the eight-part series will be released weekly.

"I’m so proud of what we’re creating, and the candid conversations that I’m able to have with other female founders as we unpack the twists and turns of building a business," Meghan said in a statement.

"Through my friendships and relationships, we’re able to dive into the type of insights that everyone wants to know as they’re building a business, and that I’m able to tap into as I’m building my own business with As ever."

It's been a busy few months for the former actress following the launch of her As ever products launched in partnership with her new Netflix, With Love, Meghan.