Obamas find new podcast home at Audible after Spotify exit

5th Ward Alderman Leslie A. Hairston, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Former US president Barack Obama, Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Alderperson (7th ward) Greg Mitchell celebrate during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Obama presidential center in Jackson Park, in Chicago, Illinois, Sept. 28, 2021. Image: Reuters/Sebastian Hidalgo

The Obamas’ media company Higher Ground has signed a multi-year deal with Amazon Inc.-owned Audible to make original audio content, after ending its three-year run with Spotify.

The terms of the agreement announced on Tuesday were not disclosed. The deal gives Audible the right to have a first look at the new material before others in the industry get access to it.

Higher Ground signed its first podcast deal with Spotify in 2019 and went on to make shows such as “The Michelle Obama Podcast” and “Born in the USA,” a series of conversations between former US President Barack Obama and musician Bruce Springsteen.

But the Swedish audio-streaming platform declined to renew its deal with Higher Ground, prompting the Obamas to seek new partners, Bloomberg News reported in April.

The report had said that Higher Ground was then in talks with other distributors about a deal worth tens of millions of dollars, among the most lucrative in the podcasting business. AP

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