Bye Bye, Spotify! Obamas Sign Deal With Amazon-Owned Audible

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have announced a new home of their audio content.

What Happened: The Obama’s media company, Higher Ground, announced an exclusive, multi-year, first-look deal with Audible, the online audiobook and podcast service owned by Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Higher Ground praised the deal, citing a shared mission to tell “meaningful and entertaining stories.”

“At Higher Ground, we have always sought to lift up voices that deserve to be heard – and Audible is invested in realizing that vision alongside us," Obama said. "I’m looking forward to partnering with them to tell stories that not only entertain but also inspire."

Higher Ground is an Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning company that has done audio and media content.

“We are so proud of the stories we have been able to tell at Higher Ground, and there’s no one we’d rather write our next chapter with than Audible. Together, 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,” Michelle Obama said.

Audible, which was acquired by Amazon in 2008, said the deal will help bring original content from Higher Ground into its mix. Audible has previously partnered on audio of existing Obama books.

Related Link: Obamas Look To Move Beyond Spotify

Why It’s Important: The Audible deal follows the Obamas' recent departure from Spotify Technology (NYSE: SPOT). The company’s first podcast “The Michelle Obama Podcast," is the most listened to Spotify Original podcast of all time.

Audible offers some of its content for free and also has monthly subscription plans priced at $7.95 and $14.95 a month. No details were offered if the new content will be behind the paywall, a move that could boost subscription revenue for the Amazon-owned segment.

Along with the Audible deal, the Obamas have an exclusive content deal with streaming company Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), where it produced the documentary series “Our Great National Parks” and the feature film “Fatherhood.”

On Tuesday, Higher Ground announced Will Forte will star in the company’s first scripted drama series.

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