Spotify CEO Suggests 'Archetypes' Didn't Make Consumers "Happy" Enough to Warrant a Second Season

Meghan Markle's Archetypes podcast wasn't renewed for a second season, and the Sussexes' contract with Spotify ended back in June.

Since then, many things have been said, and still many more have been left unsaid. But Spotify CEO Daniel Ek just gave an interview to the BBC that sheds a tiny bit more light on the situation.

Asked why Archetypes was axed from the streaming platform's programming, Ek said, "We thought new innovation was needed to happen here. We thought, 'We can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues'" (via the Los Angeles Times).

Speaking of how Spotify attempted to compete with similar platforms, Ek continued, "And the truth of the matter is, some of it has worked, some of it hasn’t. We're learning from those and we are moving on and we wish all of the ones we didn't renew with the best of success they can have going forward."

In June, Ek told the BBC, "We’re going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals. And the ones that aren’t performing, obviously, we won’t renew. And the ones that are performing, we will obviously look at those on a case-by-case basis on the relative value."

Although it sounds like Archetypes didn't end up bringing in as much money for Spotify as they'd hoped, it was still a very successful show: It won Pop Podcast of 2022 at the People's Choice Awards, and reportedly brought in an estimated 10 million listeners. At one point, it even beat Joe Rogan's controversial podcast in the Spotify charts.

It's unclear whether the Duchess of Sussex intends to resume podcasting in the future. The most confirmed of hers and Harry's future projects at the moment is a film adaptation of the bestselling book Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune and, as for the rest, we'll have to wait and see.