Royals

Spotify Is Reportedly Hiring More Employees to Work on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Projects

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a reported $25 million multi-year deal with the music streaming platform in December 2020.
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Spotify is apparently growing the team assigned to work on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s projects for the music streaming platform, one year after the couple signed a reported $25 million multi-year deal to create exclusive content via their production company, Archewell Audio.

So far, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have only released one podcast as part of that contract, a 33-minute holiday special in December 2020, featuring their son Archie’s first public words and sonic cameos from a wide array of stars, including Stacey Abrams, Christina Adane, José Andrés, Brené Brown, Rachel Cargle, Deepak Chopra, James Corden, Matt Haig, Sir Elton John, Hussain Manawer, Naomi Osaka, Tyler Perry, and George the Poet. At the time of the podcast’s release, many outlets reported that the first complete series from Archewell Audio was expected to be released in 2021, however, that never came to fruition.

In July, Archewell Audio hired experienced podcast producer, Rebecca Sananes, but now Spotify is “taking production into its own hands,” increasing its focus on the royal couple’s upcoming projects and advertising for in-house staff to cover “every step” of the production process, according to the Daily Mail. The company is hiring producers to work exclusively with Archewell Audio through its podcast branch, Gimlet, offering applicants a six-month contract based in Los Angeles. The outlet claims that one ad for a senior producer role reads, “We’re currently assembling a show team that will build and launch a new original show with Archewell featuring the voices of high-profile women. The ideal candidate has experience working with high-profile talent, and an interest in the intersection of social activism and popular culture.”

When they first signed the deal with Spotify, Harry and Meghan said in a joint statement, “What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction. With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so, because when we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.”

Spotify Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer, Dawn Ostroff, also said of the partnership in a press release “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live in California but the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world. That they are embracing the extraordinary capacity of podcasts on Spotify while also seeking to elevate underrepresented voices is a testament to their appreciation for the potential of audio storytelling. We are proud to partner with The Duke and Duchess and look forward to listeners hearing directly from them and the other creators that they will be elevating via our global platform.”

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