*The Obamas are expanding their media empire through a multiyear deal with Spotify to create podcasts for the audio service.
The partnership comes through their Higher Ground production company, which previously inked a deal with Netflix to develop a slew of compelling content. Higher Ground’s new podcast division will see Barack and Michelle develop, produce and lend their voices to select shows exclusive for Spotify, per THR.
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Exciting to see the faces of Colombia’s future at an @ObamaFoundation roundtable with young leaders in Bogotá. Their creativity, their compassion, and their drive to improve their country are promising signs of what’s to come. pic.twitter.com/HrhreUuPMa
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 30, 2019
“We’ve always believed in the value of entertaining, thought-provoking conversation,” Barack said Thursday in a statement announcing the deal. “It helps us build connections with each other and open ourselves up to new ideas. We’re excited about Higher Ground Audio because podcasts offer an extraordinary opportunity to foster productive dialogue, make people smile and make people think and, hopefully, bring us all a little closer together.”
Spotify boasts 217 million monthly active users and 100 million subscribers, offering podcasts from Joe Budden and Jemele Hill’s Unbothered.
“President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are two of the world’s most important voices, and it is a privilege to be working with them to identify and share stories that will inspire our global audience, which looks to Spotify for unique, breakthrough content,” Spotify’s chief content officer Dawn Ostroff said in a statement. “Connecting people with original and thoughtful creators — especially those with the ability to highlight underrepresented and indispensable narratives — is at the core of our mission, and we are thrilled that not only will the Obamas be producing content, but that they will be lending their voices to this effort.”
About Higher Ground
Higher Ground is a production company formed by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama dedicated to producing powerful stories to entertain, inform and inspire, and to lifting up new, diverse voices in the entertainment industry. Higher Ground Productions has a multi-year deal with Netflix to produce a wide range of scripted, unscripted and documentary-style series, as well as feature-length narrative and documentary films. Higher Ground Audio has a multi-year deal with Spotify to produce a diverse slate of original podcasts.
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