Interview: Eddy Cue talks about Apple Music productions and fighting fake news

Annually, the Recode receives several guests at the conference Code Media and this year, Apple was represented by Eddy Cue (senior vice president of software and internet services), Ben Silverman (producer of “Planet of the Apps”) and Ben Winston (producer of the series “Carpool Karaoke”).

Interviewed by Peter Kafka, the producers talked about their programs, while Cue commented on the part that involved Ma in these productions and some other subjects.

Code media with Eddy Cue

The conversation started with Cue and Silverman talking about the first reality show Apple Music's exclusive “Planet of the Apps” was at the event that Apple released the first trailer for the program. Interestingly, the idea (conceived by Silverman, Howard Owens and will.i.am) had been first presented to several TV channels, who enjoyed it a lot. However, as will.i.am would have a musical meeting with Jimmy Iovine (one of those responsible for Apple Music) and Cue, they thought about also taking the idea to Ma. As we now know, the rest is history.

The idea is really interesting, but as the interviewer questioned, the program has no musical relationship whatsoever to be on a music platform. About this, the executive of Ma said that "we see that videos can be an important part of Apple Music, one of the aspects that differentiate it from the others". He also cited the fact that he knew Silverman's great work since they brought “The Office” (TV series that had his American version produced by him) to iTunes.

Planet of the Apps

Recalling the big purchase that Ma made when acquiring Beats, Kafka asked "why doesn't Apple just buy a large studio like Time Warner or Netflix?" Cue explained:

We are trying to do unique and cultural things. () We think we have a real opportunity in the TV space to do this with Apple Music and the shows, and the things we are trying to do are not being done by anyone. () So, yes, if we wanted to do what everyone else is doing, then you are right, maybe it is better to buy someone or do that.

But that is not what we are trying to do. We are trying to do something that is unique, take advantage of our platforms, which really brings culture to it. () Now, we think we can do this with partners like Ben and we don’t see it anywhere else.

"Planet of the Apps", according to the trailer, will be available weekly, with a premiere scheduled for our spring (between the end of September and the end of December). However, Cue says that we will be able to see the first episode appear from March or April. In addition to the episodes available on Apple Music, an application part offers extra content from the program.

The conversation continued with some subjects that have been commented on a lot and that the Apple executive only made general comments and / or abstained, as when Cue talked about the future of the television market, which has changed a lot. Kafka also asked if the company would make more public information available to podcasters, but Cue dodged saying only that "we are working on new podcast features".

Going back to the production chat for the streaming from Ma, Winston took the stage to talk about his program (“Carpool Karaoke”) and to publicize an extended trailer of it.

Moving a bit away from the entertainment side and taking advantage of the presence of the Apple executive, Kafka and Cue also talked about Apple's fight against fake news, recalling Tim Cook's recent comment on the subject.

Cue then said that technology companies have a special responsibility in this regard, since many depend on them to receive the news. While admitting that there is no simple way to prevent false news from being released / shared, the company is working to mitigate this.

We wanted Apple News to be available to everyone (vehicles), but we want to veto and make sure that Apple News providers are legitimate. () We are very concerned with all the click-baits and how this is moving a large part of the news coverage.

The interview also had a question and answer session; you can check everything on the video above.