Spotify Lands Exclusive Podcast Hosted by Michelle Obama
The former first lady will talk with guests about the relationships that shape us
Fans of former first lady Michelle Obama will now have a chance to listen to her at her most intimate and candid via Spotify.
The Michelle Obama Podcast will debut exclusively on Spotify on July 29 through an ongoing partnership between the audio streaming service and the Obamas’ Academy Award-winning independent entertainment company Higher Ground. It will be available to its nearly 300 million free and premium users globally. The series aims to inspire listeners to “allow themselves to be vulnerable, to open up, and to focus on what matters most,” by way of hostess Michelle Obama.
Spotify has been rapidly expanding its podcast offerings, purchasing Bill Simmons’ The Ringer in February and striking a $100 million deal with Joe Rogan. After revealing a new podcast ad insertion product at CES, the audio service began testing it last month. Last week, Spotify reached a deal with Omnicom Media Group that gives clients like AT&T, State Farm and McDonald’s first crack at original podcasts.
Higher Ground Productions, founded in 2018, started off as a film production company with a multiyear contract with Netflix. In June 2019, Spotify and Higher Ground linked up to create Higher Ground Audio.
“My hope is that this series can be a place to explore meaningful topics together and sort through so many of the questions we’re all trying to answer in our own lives,” Obama said in a statement.
Episode subjects will primarily focus on the relationships that shape us, including those with ourselves and our health.
“Perhaps most of all, I hope this podcast will help listeners open up new conversations—and hard conversations—with the people who matter most to them,” she added. “That’s how we can build more understanding and empathy for one another.”
Special guests joining Obama in conversation during The Michelle Obama Podcast’s first season include Conan O’Brien, Sharon Malone, Valerie Jarrett, and her mother Marian Robinson and brother Craig. Salesforce and Procter & Gamble brands Dawn and Tide will serve as the first season’s presenting sponsors.
“We believe that audiences across the globe will be inspired by these most candid, most human and most personal conversations between first lady Michelle Obama and her guests,” Spotify chief content and advertising business officer Dawn Ostroff said in a statement.
