Duke and Duchess Turn to Podcasting

In 2020, Spotify has nabbed podcast deals with Joe Rogan, Michelle Obama, Kim Kardashian, and now a duke and duchess. Archewell Audio, a division of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new production company, has signed an exclusive partnership with Spotify that will see the couple "host and produce podcasts that build community through shared experience, narratives, and values," according to a Tuesday release, per CNN. Deadline notes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are "following the Obama playbook," having signed a deal with Netflix in September, as the Obamas did in 2018. The first Spotify project will be a holiday special hosted by the couple to be released this month.

"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," the couple says in a statement. Spotify's chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, says "the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world." A series from Archewell Audio is set to air next year on Spotify, which counts 320 million monthly active users, per CNN. (The duke and duchess were dealt a personal tragedy this year.)