Tomas Chlebek Rolling Stone magazine in the second June issue published article describing the ways in which Apple Music is trying to dominate the streaming music market. They refer to them as innovative, not just efficient.
Surprisingly, the main name associated with them will not be Jimmy Iovine, but Larry Jackson, who is in charge of original music content at Apple. Jackson previously worked for the music publishing house Interscope Records, where he met Iovine, who is said to have influenced, for example, his innovative way of promoting the album of the singer Lana Del Rey.
He recognized that Lana Del Rey had become popular mainly thanks to the Internet and decided to capitalize on it. Instead of investing in radio play for the singles, they made several long music videos, acting more like short films. Although none of the singles from the album "Born to Die" received regular radio airplay, it peaked at number two on the Billboard charts upon release and went platinum.
A similar approach is evident in Apple Music. Apple funded highly successful music videos H"Hotline Bling" by Drake and "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd, concert documentary "The 1989 World Tour" singer Taylor Swift. Tim Cook himself is said to have somehow participated in the creation of the video for the song "Borders" singer MIA
Another way Apple Music tries to retain existing and gain new subscribers is by providing exclusive albums. Thanks to this, for example, Drake enjoyed great success with his latest album "Views", which was only available on Apple for the first two weeks. In February of this year, rapper Future's "EVOL" album was exclusively available on Apple, announcing the release on DJ Khaled's Beats 1 radio show. Most recently, Apple Music offered Chance the Rapper's "Coloring Book" as exclusive content.
Larry Jackson says his goal is to put Apple Music "at the center of everything relevant in pop culture." He mentions "MTV in the 80s and 90s" as a role model. You still felt like Michael Jackson or Britney Spears lived there. How do you make people feel that way?'
Apple Music has been successful, but it is still a long way from dominating the streaming music market. Spotify still reigns supreme with 30 million paying subscribers, while Apple Music has 15 million. In assessing Apple's tactics, Rolling Stone also cites former director of Universal's digital division, Larry Kenswila.
Kenswil refers to Iovine's strategy at Beats, where ads with celebrity athletes gained publicity for both the brand and the athlete. He says: “It definitely worked then. However, concluding exclusive contracts will not give them so much publicity. So the jury is still out.”
"It's just a partnership that makes it possible to do interesting things. It's almost like getting paid to wake up in bed and eat breakfast - you're going to do it anyway," said rapper Future's manager, Anthony Saleh.
