The Obamas’ Higher Ground production company signs multi-year deal with Audible

Former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground production company is heading to Amazon’s Audible platform.

Following the end of a three-year deal with Spotify, the Obamas have reportedly inked an exclusive multi-year, first-look deal with the Amazon-owned platform.

While firm details surrounding the Obamas’ new deal with Audible remain unclear at this time, comments from Michelle Obama hint at the possibility of their content with Audible being released on multiple streaming platforms.

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The Audible deal will see the Obamas “keep striving to tell compelling, provocative, and soulful stories — while doing everything we can to make sure they reach the folks who need to hear them,” Michelle Obama told The Hollywood Reporter.

Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama (Picture: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A Higher Ground spokesperson also told The Hollywood Reporter that the two companies “plan to make the Audible Originals available to the widest possible audience”.

The newly signed deal with Audible comes after the Obamas’ three-year deal with streaming giant Spotify ended earlier this year. The Spotify deal saw them “develop, produce and appear” on select podcasts through their Higher Ground production company.

The Obamas’ contributions to Spotify notably included the eight-part podcast series Renegades: Born In The USA with Bruce Springsteen. While their contract with Spotify has expired, Higher Ground is still set to release several projects with Spotify, including Alex Pappademas’ The Big Hit Show, The Sum of Us Podcast in July, and an unannounced podcast scheduled for later this year.

A Spotify representative said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that the streaming platform “declined to extend our deal” with the Obamas but “are excited about the series we made together and those still to come in the months ahead”.