Apple is now reportedly making exclusive music videos for artists
Apple Music
These include videos for Pharrell, Eminem, and Drake - in which the Canadian rapper dresses up as Miley Cyrus, Oprah Winfrey, and Justin Bieber.
Despite its size, Apple has entered the music streaming race as the underdog: Although the Cupertino company has historically dominated paid downloads, competitor Spotify has music streaming stitched up, holding around 85% of the on-demand market.
Apple Music, launched on June 30, distinguishes itself through its array of options. Yes, there's a music streaming service (free for three months to sweeten the deal), but it's accompanied by global internet radio station Beats 1, and social network Apple Music Connect.
It's now apparently also building music videos for artists in-house - making the platform more attractive to musicians, and generating exclusive content to lure customers in. Pitchfork claims that the videos Apple has made for artists include:
- Drake - Energy
- Pharrell - Freedom
- Eminem - Phenomenal
- M.I.A. "Matahdatah Scroll 01 Broader Than A Border"
We already knew these videos were exclusive to Apple Music. But if Pitchfork's report that Apple has had an active hand in making them is accurate, it marks an interesting shift towards content creation that evidences the lengths Apple is prepared to go to to make Apple Music succeed.
Drake's video in particular is well worth a watch, with the Canadian rapper alternately appearing as pop badboy Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, rap superstar Kanye West, and TV host Oprah Winfrey (pictured below).
Apple Music
The music blog adds that Apple Music "is also rumored to have projects in the works from Purity Ring, Diddy, and James Bay," and when it reached out to Apple for comment, Apple Music's head of content supposedly responded with the following:
Oh ok. ??????http://t.co/OnIBvlvfqT#AppleMusicBreaksTheInternet#Content #Culture #Curation #EnergyVideoOnConnect
- Larry Jackson (@LarryJackson) July 10, 2015
("Oh ok" appears to be a dig at Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, who tweeted (and then deleted) the same phrase when Apple Music was officially unveiled. #Content, meanwhile, looks like confirmation Apple is indeed getting into the content game.)
Business Insider has reached out to Apple for comment.
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