Obamas in Talks With Distributors As Spotify Decides Against New Deal

• Spotify and the Obamas’ production company had a number of disagreements throughout their partnership.
• Sources told Bloomberg that talks are in works with the likes of Amazon’s Audible and iHeartMedia Inc.
• The Obamas’ podcasts with Spotify were among the streaming giant’s most popular.

The Obamas are set to call time on their partnership with Spotify.

The former first couple’s media production company, Higher Ground, will split with Spotify after the

streaming

giant declined to make an offer to renew their deal, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with negotiations.

Amazon‘s Audible and iHeartMedia are among those currently in negotiations with Higher Ground on a deal that would be worth tens of millions of dollars, the newswire reported. 

High Ground’s departure follows a number of disagreements with Spotify, such as how frequently the Obamas would feature in output, and over exclusivity of shows, including the former president’s podcast with Bruce Springsteen, according to Bloomberg.

Spotify did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, while Higher Ground did not immediately respond to a request made outside of normal US operating hours. Neither Audible nor iHeartMedia immediately responded to Insider’s request for comment made outside normal working hours.

The Obama’s helped boost Spotify’s podcast credentials after announcing in June 2019 that they would develop and produce audio shows for the streaming giant. Higher Ground had begun shopping for new deals in recent months ahead of the end of the three-year deal, podcast industry insiders previously told Insider.

Higher Ground wants to produce several shows and be able to release them on multiple platforms, Bloomberg reported. Spotify may also have declined an offer due to this reason, while iHeart, which doesn’t always use an exclusive strategy, could be interested for the same reason, the outlet added.

The first show under the Obamas’ Spotify deal, “The Michelle Obama Podcast,” was among the platform’s most popular podcasts during its exclusive run, though Spotify later made it available on rival podcast apps. Barack Obama also hosted his own Spotify show called “Renegades: Born in the USA,” alongside musician Bruce Springsteen.