Photo credit: Peabody Awards / CC by 3.0
After he got out The Daily ShowComedian Trevor Noah has found a new home on Spotify with an exclusive podcast deal.
Spotify adjusted its podcasting strategy in 2023, abandoning some of its less profitable ventures and giving up. Now audio streaming giant Trevor has hired Noah to host a weekly show to “solve probably every single problem mankind has ever faced, so you’ll definitely want to be on every episode,” jokes Noah.
“The weekly podcast will combine Trevor’s signature humor and razor-sharp wit with his global perspective to deliver a unique take on today’s hottest and most compelling topics,” the press release reads. “The series, which premieres later this year, will also feature in-depth and light-hearted conversations between Trevor and some of the most influential and interesting people on the planet.”
The news was announced during a conversation between Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and Trevor Noah during Spotify Beach, a celebration held during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France. This comes just days after Spotify severed ties with Archewell Audio, the company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. That multi-year partnership reportedly cost Spotify $20 million — and may not have been a clean break.
After the split was publicly announced as an “amicable breakup,” sources close to Spotify say the couple’s meager output was the main reason for the breakup. The guard reports that the pair failed to meet Spotify’s internal productivity benchmark to receive the full headline payout after only producing a 12-episode podcast series archetypes.
Bill Simmons, founder of the Ringer podcast network, had even tougher words for the royal couple. Simmons sold The Ringer to Spotify for $196 million in 2020, becoming a Spotify executive in the process.
“I wish I was involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leaving Spotify’ negotiation,” Simmons said on an episode of his podcast. “The damn Grifters. This is the podcast we should have started with them. One night I have to get drunk and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories – fuck it. The scammers.”
Daniel Ek admitted his podcasting strategy of acquiring big names didn’t work out with the $1 billion spent acquiring exclusive properties. “You’re right when you denounce the overpayments and overinvestments,” Ek told a financial analyst during a conference call. “We will invest very carefully in future content deals. And we will not extend the ones that don’t work.”