Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are searching for a new podcast distributor as their contract with Spotify expires at the end of this year and the streaming service has not offered them a new deal, a source told CNN.
The Obamas are looking for a partner that will widely distribute a limited amount of episodes, according to Bloomberg.
They launched a production company called Higher Ground and entered the entertainment business in 2018. Spotify announced the deal in 2019.
Spotify said it overtook Apple Podcasts as the No. 1 platform in listenership last year, according to Tech Crunch.
Mrs. Obama’s show, titled “The Michelle Obama Podcast,” premiered in 2020 and features interviews with friends, family, team members and journalists.
The former president has his own show, titled “Bo,” but has released just one episode — a discussion with actor Dax Shepard.
Mr. Obama also recorded a series of conversations with Bruce Springsteen called “Renegades: Born in the USA” in 2021.
Spotify did not respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg reported that the Obamas are discussing a new deal with Amazon’s Audible and iHeartMedia.
iHeartMedia says it “has a greater reach than any other media company in the country” with 250 million monthly listeners, according to the company’s website.
Audible and iHeartMedia did not return a request for comment.
• Peter Santo can be reached at psanto@washingtontimes.com.
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