Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Look Forward to Continuing Their Work With Spotify
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently joined a growing list of public figures who are calling on Spotify to address COVID-19 misinformation published on the streaming platform. The couple previously partnered with Global Citizen in order to increase vaccine reach to poorer countries and to improve vaccine equity.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Address “Serious Harms” Brought About by Misinformation
Prince Harry and Meghan are currently signed on to produce audio content for Spotify. The deal is reportedly worth over $18 million, and so far, Spotify has only seen a Holiday special broadcast in December 2020 and featuring public figures like Elton John and James Corden. The couple were paid $500,000 per minute of the podcast.
Following Spotify’s Joe Rogan spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19, people, led by Neil Young, started calling out the platform. Neil Young removed his music on the streaming platform in protest against the COVID-19 inaccuracies broadcast by the platform.
Whilst a few people called on Harry and Meghan to take a similar approach and cut their relationship with the streaming giant, they opted to write a public letter to Spotify addressing the issue.
Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, have an exclusive multi-year deal with Spotify to produce educational, child-friendly, and inspirational contents. Per a spokesperson for the couple’s Archewell foundation, Harry and Meghan first contacted Spotify in April 2021 to express “concerns” about “the all-too-real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform”.
“Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis. Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation every day,” the statement began.
“Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of COVID-19 misinformation on its platform,” the statement added. “We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.”
“We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does,” the statement concluded.
Harry and Meghan’s Podcasting Goals
In December 2020, the Sussex pair announced a “multi-year partnership” Between Spotify and their production company Archewell Audio.
According to a press release, through the partnership the couple will host and produce original podcasts “all with the goal to build community through shared experience, narratives and values.”
“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,” Harry and Meghan said in a joint statement at the time.
“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,” they added.
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