Obamas Reportedly End Their Exclusive Spotify Podcast Deal

Ex-US President Barack Obama and his spouse Michelle Obama’s media firm, Higher Ground, has ended its unique podcast take care of Spotify.

According to Variety, they’re at present looking out for different companions within the podcasting area.

Originally inked in 2019, the Obamas have exited their unique pact with Spotify after being annoyed with the corporate’s unique phrases.

Primarily, they wish to have their podcast programming distributed as broadly as attainable, in line with two sources accustomed to the state of affairs.

A information outlet has reported that Higher Ground has additionally disagreed with Spotify over what number of of its reveals would characteristic the previous president and first woman.

The manufacturing home’s present take care of Spotify runs by October 2022 and a supply means that Spotify declined to make a suggestion to resume the settlement.

As per Variety, Higher Ground is at present in talks with different audio distribution firms, together with Amazon-owned Audible and iHeartMedia, in hope of reaching a nonexclusive deal for its podcast content material.

Meanwhile, Spotify is engaged on bettering podcast discovery on its apps. The media streaming service is testing a brand new ‘audio newsfeed’ characteristic that’ll assist in straightforward discovery of podcasts. The characteristic is claimed to make use of a TikTok-style vertical scrolling feed that’ll showcase 60-second podcasts clips. A restricted variety of customers have already got entry to the characteristic, and it provides a brand new Podcasts button within the app. Spotify hasn’t shared any particulars relating to the broader launch of this characteristic.