Harry and Meghan have a $36million deal with Spotify. Photo / Getty Images
Harry and Meghan have a $36million deal with Spotify. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have joined other celebrities in calling out Spotify for hosting content containing "Covid misinformation".
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said they have reached out to the music streaming service that they are partnered with to "express our concerns" over podcasts such as Joe Rogan's.
However, unlike other celebrities in the Spotify exodus, the couple has not split from the company and instead say they are "committed to continuing our work together" while they work through disagreements.
The news comes after Harry and Meghan's own £18million ($36 million NZD) Spotify project appeared to have stalled, with Spotify reportedly taking production into its own hands.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "Since the inception of [their non-profit organisation] Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis.
"Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of mis- and disinformation every day.
"Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.
"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."
Podcaster and media personality Joe Rogan. Photo / Getty Images
Bruce Springsteen guitarist and Neil Young bandmate Nils Lofgren also became the latest musician to take his solo work off the streaming service today.
Lofgren wrote in Young's newsletter that he was joining in "standing with hundreds of health care professionals, scientists, doctors and nurses" in criticising Spotify over its role in "promoting lies and misinformation" in regards to Covid.
Spotify faces also faces an exodus of talent as speaker and author Brené Brown and Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl also rumoured to be following Neil Young and Joni Mitchell off the platform.
Spotify announced the partnership with the Sussexes' Archewell Audio in December 2020 as they wanted to "elevate underrepresented voices".
So far the couple has produced a 33-minute 'holiday special' and are yet to release anything else to the platform, partially due to being on parental leave after the birth of their daughter.
Harry and Meghan have since added two more entertainment companies to their growing business empire in Delaware.
