Obamas find new home at Amazon's Audible for audio venture
Mark Wilson/Getty Images News


The Obamas' podcasting venture has found its new home. Higher Ground - the media company formed by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama - has a global first-look deal with Audible, the audio-story platform at Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).

That marks the new home for the venture, after Higher Ground and former home Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) said in April that they wouldn't be renewing their three-year deal.
That split was characterized by some frustration in the agreement, with the Obamas reportedly having difficulty getting shows approved, and Spotify preferring more shows focused on the couple rather than on younger new voices.
The new multi-year deal with Audible covers multiple audio projects, the parties say. And it will be non-exclusive to Audible's platform, meaning the companies plan to make shows available across a range of podcast platforms (largely as expected).
The Spotify (SPOT) deal runs through October, and Higher Ground podcasts will continue to appear on Spotify until then. The Michelle Obama Podcast is the most-listened-to Spotify original so far.