Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were taken aback by the abrupt announcement of a worldwide campaign by Spotify, featuring Angelina Jolie, shortly after their departure from the platform.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had anticipated a more dignified exit from the audio streaming giant, but their expectations were not met.
Following their exit, the couple’s initial response was one of disappointment at how the news of their departure was handled by Spotify.
According to a recent report, Harry and Meghan had hoped that Spotify would issue a statement praising their collaboration, but no such acknowledgment was made.
A source disclosed that the platform had been urging the Sussexes to provide more content in the past year, which they failed to deliver on before the contract came to an end earlier this month.
Just days after parting ways with Meghan, Spotify hastily publicized a new partnership with UNICEF, focusing on a global campaign for refugees.
Notably, the collaboration involves Angelina Jolie, a figure admired by Meghan, especially for her philanthropic projects.
Spotify’s official statement emphasized their goal of supporting young people, including refugees and migrants, in enhancing their mental health and well-being both online and offline.
Elizabeth Nieto, Spotify’s VP, Global Head of Equity and Impact, highlighted that the collaboration with UNICEF aims to leverage music, audio, and innovative digital content to provide valuable mental health resources for young people, caregivers, and communities.
Angelina Jolie, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, recorded a special message for World Refugee Day as part of the campaign, urging individuals to take action and share the video message across various platforms.
The three-year partnership with UNICEF seeks to address the pressing mental health needs of young people affected by the conflict in Ukraine.
UNICEF has been actively involved in providing mental health support to over 2.6 million Ukrainian children and caregivers even before 2022.
Moving forward, the collaboration between Spotify and UNICEF aims to expand its impact to various emergency and non-emergency situations globally.
Angelina Jolie’s role as a Special Envoy has been instrumental in advocating for refugee rights and raising awareness about the plight of displaced individuals.
Having embarked on numerous field missions to witness firsthand the challenges faced by refugees, Ms. Jolie remains committed to addressing issues of forced displacement and humanitarian crises.
UNICEF, with the backing of Spotify, is working with Ukrainian and Polish youth to develop a youth-centric mental health podcast called “On My Mind.”
The podcast’s first season will be available in Ukrainian, Polish, and English initially, with plans to introduce additional languages in the future.
The collaboration between Spotify and UNICEF aims to create, adapt, digitize, and translate more mental health content to reach a wider audience and make a positive impact on mental well-being.