Mikey Campbell
A report on Friday claims Apple is producing in-house music videos and other content for chart-topping artists, including Eminem, Pharrell and Drake, the latter of which released such a video on Friday as an Apple Connect exclusive.
According to Pitchfork, Apple's production team created videos for Pharrell's "Freedom," Eminem's "Phenomenal" and Drake's "Energy," all of which debuted as Apple Music exclusives.
The company's next big project is said to be a short film accompanying a two-track release from M.I.A. called "Matahdatah Scroll 01 Broader Than a Border," slated to land on July 13 according to Apple Music's Twitter account.
When asked for comment, Apple Music's head of content Larry Jackson posted the following on Twitter:
Oh ok. 👊🏾😉
— Larry Jackson (@LarryJackson) July 10, 2015Media reports covering Drake's "Energy" video today noted the skillful execution of special effects that morphed the rapper into pop icons and headline makers like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Oprah, Kanye West, O.J. Simpson, Rob Ford, President Barack Obama and more. Drake, who showed up for the Apple Music reveal at WWDC last month, also announced he will be hosting his own show on Beats 1 radio starting Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Exclusive access to new releases and content is thought to be key to Apple Music's success. For example, when the service launched on June 30 it debuted Pharrell's single "Freedom," scored an exclusive Beats 1 radio interview with Eminem, announced a bi-weekly show hosted by Dr. Dre — who granted streaming rights to his seminal The Chronic — and pulled off a coup by striking a deal to stream Taylor Swift's hit album 1989.
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17 Comments
I still think that the end goal is to cut out the labels. Apple only needs to subsidize the creation of music, studio time, equipment, etc, to create a direct from artist to Apple Music exclusive pathway for promising artists early in their efforts to establish themselves. Don't become the label, just seek to recoup the subsidies back into a fund that then can be invested in new artists. Apple Music replaces the labels promotional capabilities with its immediate, efficient and ultra-wide reach. Promotion becomes easy and automatic, built in to a platform designed for artist and music discovery. And the world turns...
"FTC meets with concerned companies regarding Apple's investment in music video production being an antitrust violation."
Apple doing more for artists, the rapidly decreasing cost of producing an album (read: technology) and Connect, publishers are losing some of their relevance. They'll still be required, but what all of this allows is more talent to get exposure rather than relying on conservative publishers who are more likely to endorse repetitive-certainty over newness.
The Drake video is on the following site: http://www.ryanseacrest.com/2015/07/10/drake-imitates-justin-bieber-miley-cyrus-oprah-more-in-energy-video/ Apple will already have a production team for all their own ads so making exclusive music videos is a good way to keep them busy between product launches and build up exclusive content for Apple Music.
Being a successful artist requires being popular with teenagers, but teenage life is all about rebellion and sticking it to the man. If these artists (such as Drake) are too closely associated with big business (in this case Apple) the kids will think they are sell outs. In which case exclusivity is neither here nor there. When signing a business deal, you ignore the wider context to the detriment of the financial outcome.