We, who are always waiting for news in hardware and software from Apple, maybe we did not realize the efforts applied behind all this. O Apple Music, for example, arrive for us redesigned on iOS 10, but the big push is really in the “backstage”, where Ma spares no effort to win the battle of streaming musical. In an interview with Rolling Stone, those in charge of the service, Jimmy Iovine and Larry Jackson (who controls the original content), talked a little about the strategies used to get ahead.
Among the investments that the Cupertino giant has already made, the video clip “Hotline Bling” (from rapper Drake), the world tour show for the album “1989” (Taylor Swift) that is exclusive to Apple Music, the music video for the song “Can't Feel My Face” (Weeknd) and the song “Phenomenal” (Eminem), all financed by Apple. In a good surprise, Jackson also mentioned that Tim Cook himself was involved in the production of the music video "Borders" (by the singer M.I.A.) which was also financed by the company.
Jackson has contributed a lot to the company's most innovative approach and, according to him, the inspiration comes from his previous work at Interscope Records, where he also worked in partnership with Iovine. At that time, when they signed with Lana Del Rey, he preferred not to do any radio advertising only on video because the singer was an artist “coming from the internet, to the internet”. The result of this was the album “Born to Die” earning a platinum record and placing second on Billboard.
Iovine is also responsible for many assertive choices that help the service of streaming of Ma to stand out in many aspects. Mentioning the case of rapper Chance, who had his album "Coloring Book" available exclusively for Apple Music and didn't even have a record label, Iovine said: "We would like to be the place where they can do their thing."
Larry Jackson and Jimmy IovineIn the exclusive race, there were also some problems along the way. For example, when trying to fish the album “The Life of Pablo” from rapper Kanye West, he ended up declining the offer, going exclusively to Tidal. "In the end, he wanted to work with his friend," said Iovine. However, after six months the album was already on Apple Music and West guaranteed himself a beautiful process.
Looking at the numbers released by each company, we can see Spotify leading with 30 million paid subscribers, which is double the 15 million guaranteed by Apple Music. Tidal, which has great artists like Beyonc, Rihanna and Kanye West, has 3 million paid users. However, the industry did not have Apple's cunning because “Apple, which is worth more than $ 586 billion, has something that none of the companies have: money” as the company Rolling Stone.
For this reason, even record companies have recognized their great potential. Monte Limpmam of Republic Records (record label for artists like Weeknd and Ariana Grande) said that "Apple is sexy" and that she "is prepared to do things that no one has ever done. Lately, they have been very smart in offering us opportunities that we consider to be innovative ”.
The great intention of those who are behind all this, as explained by Jackson, is to make Apple be in "the intercession of everything that is relevant in pop culture" and adds saying that his philosophy is to "take it and do it". He revealed that he follows the MTV model in the 1980s and 1990s: “You felt like Michael Jackson or Britney Spears lived there. How do you emotionally evoke that feeling in people? ”
In addition to those already mentioned, Ma also guaranteed original content from Keith Richards, Selena Gomez, The Black Eyed Peas, among others. But Apple's advances will not stop there: soon there will be original video content like Dr. Dre's “Vital Signs” series, and a six-episode documentary co-produced by Vice.
In other words, they are definitely not for fun. 😛
(via 9to5Mac)
