Barack and Michelle Obama are expanding their media empire by teaming up with Amazon’s Audible in a multi-year deal that will see the former first couple create podcasts and other audio content for the platform following their departure from Spotify.
The Obamas’ Higher Ground production company struck the first-look deal, which is reportedly worth several million dollars. Audible gushed over the Obamas’ in a press release on Tuesday, with company founder Don Katz calling them “two of the most profound voices of moral and intellectual leadership of our times.”
Today, big news. @HGMedia, @BarackObamaAnd @MichelleObama – welcome to Audible! Continue reading to learn more about this exciting announcement. https://t.co/tWH5DtixTQ
— Audible (@audible_com) June 21, 2022
In a statement, Michelle Obama said, “we will 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.”
The Obamas’ recently ended their deal with Spotify and will be parting ways with platform after their partnership ends in October. The couple signed an exclusive podcast deal with Spotify in 2019 and still haas a few remaining titles under their Spotify contract, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.
Several left-wing musicians including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Obama ally Ava DuVernay recently quit Spotify in the wake of the company’s partnership with Joe Rogan, whose massively popular podcast has become a target of the legacy media.
At Audible, the Obamas’ will be surrounded by left-wing celebrity friends who have also signed deals with the Amazon-owned platform, including George Clooney, Kerry Washington, and basketball star LeBron James.
The Obamas’ Higher Ground still has a deal with Netflix under which it is producing documentaries and scripted shows. The former first couple recently announced their first drama series at Netflix — Bodkin, a comedic thriller starring Saturday Night LiveWill Forte, an alum.
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