Duchess of Sussex’s delayed Spotify podcast to launch this summer
The Duchess of Sussex will release her first “groundbreaking” Spotify podcast series this summer, following a 15-month silence.
The Duke and Duchess announced that they had partnered with the streaming service in Dec 2020 in a reputed £18 million, multi-year deal.
The first complete series was promised for 2021. However, aside from a Christmas 2020 special, featuring the thoughts of friends and associates such as James Corden, Sir Elton John and Naomi Osaka, the couple have produced no shows.
The announcement about the Duchess’s forthcoming podcast follows debate over Spotify’s anti-vaccine content.
The Sussexes faced calls to cut ties with the company amid intense criticism over The Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast that gave a platform to vaccine sceptics. Rogan apologised, but remains on Spotify.
The Duke warned last year that people were “being overwhelmed by mass-scale misinformation” and that those peddling “lies and fear” were “creating vaccine hesitancy”.
Musicians including Joni Mitchell and Neil Young quit the platform in protest.
However, the couple insisted that they remained committed to working with Spotify, stating they were raising the issue of Covid misinformation to ensure changes were made.
In a statement released through Archewell Audio, their production company, a spokesman said they had been working with Spotify “to ensure that the digital technologies so many of us use every day are rooted in strong principles of trust and safety”.
They added: “We are encouraged by ongoing conversations we’ve had with Spotify on this shared goal and have been working closely with their team – as well as their senior leadership – towards policies, practices and strategies meant to raise creator awareness, minimise the spread of misinformation and support transparency.
“As we move forward at Archewell Audio, we too are eager to be responsible stewards of an audio landscape that is well resourced with quality, fact-based information – particularly when it comes to public health.
“As a result of these meetings, we are excited to announce that we are continuing production of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s groundbreaking first podcast series, set to launch this summer. We’ll have more information on her new series to share soon.”
Programming to ‘uplift audiences’
When the Duke and Duchess first joined forces with Spotify, they promised programming to “uplift and entertain audiences around the world”.
The couple said they would host and produce podcasts that “build community through shared experience, narratives, and values”.
Archewell Audio last year hired Rebecca Sananes, a former lead producer for Vox Media and New York magazine’s Pivot podcast, as the head of audio.
Ben Browning, a producer, also joined as head of content for both Archewell Audio and Archewell Productions.
Sussexes’ support for Ukrainians
Meanwhile, the Sussexes announced on Friday that through their Archewell Foundation, they had made several donations to organisations supporting Ukrainian.
The couple also acknowledged the death of Serhii Karaivan, a Ukrainian Invictus Games competitor, who was killed on March 13 fighting against the Russian invasion.
Although they did not name Mr Karaivan, they said their “hearts were heavy” and that they would continue to maintain daily contact with the Invictus Games Foundation to help however they could.
