“Watch out, Netflix. Apple, the richest company in technology, is finally moving into original video content,” Vindu Goel reports for The New York Times. “Apple said Monday night that it would introduce its first two television-style video series on Apple Music, its subscription music-streaming service, in the spring.”
“Other original videos, including scripted dramas, are planned over the next year as Apple tries to build Apple Music into a cultural platform, said Jimmy Iovine, who heads the $10-a-month service,” Goel reports. “‘There are a bunch of projects. We’re in it. This is what Apple Music is going to be,’ Mr. Iovine said in an interview Monday night. ‘Apple Music will have video and other things that I can’t talk about. We’re going to be aggressive about it.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Good thing it’s called “Apple Music.” You know, so it can “have video and other things.” It’s as well-named as iTunes Store is today. As in: Not very.
Apple “insists it has no short-term plans to directly challenge streaming-video giants like Netflix and Amazon, which are increasingly commissioning high-quality original shows to attract and retain subscribersBut Apple does intend to use original video to help distinguish Apple Music, which began in June 2015 and has attracted than 20 million subscribers, from competitors like Spotify.”
“‘Planet of the Apps,’ is a reality TV series about iPhone app developers competing to build the next great app,” Goel reports. “In the show, developers will make 60-second pitches, receive mentoring from the musician Will.i.am, the actors Jessica Alba or Gwyneth Paltrow, or the social media entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk to develop their ideas, and then try to persuade a venture capital fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, to invest in them. The winners will get prime billing in Apple’s App Store.”
“Mr. Iovine said that Apple Music was also working on other video projects that are ‘so opposite’ to the first two,” Goel reports. “‘We’re doing dramas,’ he said. ‘They just take much longer.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Using Planet of the Apps to sell music subscriptions is like trying to entice fish with an anvil. Beyond one musician mentor and the possibility of the odd music app, what part of Planet of the Apps has anything whatsoever to do with music?
By now, we’ve each had a couple coffees and we still don’t see how a screamingly derivative melange of Shark Tank and The Voice based on financing app development sells Apple Music subscriptions.
As well as Carpool Karaoke fits Apple Music, Planet of the Apps does not.
Furthermore, as per “Apple Music,” Apple has a history of naming things with a lack of foresight. Beyond the now horribly named “iTunes” and “iTunes Music Store,” which later became just “iTunes Store” even though it sells way more that just tunes, another example among many: Apple shelved the iPad to work on the iPhone first, fully planning to launch the iPad soon after, but initially named the OS “iPhone OS” anyway, necessitating a later change to “iOS.” Even when they knew exactly what was coming, no naming foresight was deployed.
SEE ALSO:
Eddy Cue: ‘Planet of the Apps’ is another way to sell more Apple Music subscriptions – February 14, 2017
Apple debuts ‘Planet of the Apps’ trailer for new Apple Music series – February 14, 2017
Jessica Alba joins Apple’s ‘Planet of the Apps’ reality series – August 30, 2016
Gwyneth Paltrow, Gary Vaynerchuk and will.i.am Join ‘Planet Of The Apps’ as mentors – August 4, 2016
Open Thread: Will you watch ‘Planet of the Apps?” – July 15, 2016
Apple calls for developers to star in reality show ‘Planet of the Apps’ – July 13, 2016
Dr. Dre to star in Apple’s first, sex-soaked scripted television series ‘Vital Signs’ – February 12, 2016
Apple looking to develop original TV series as part of new video strategy, sources say – January 29, 2016
Why Apple might feel compelled to get into original content – September 2, 2015
\Just because Apple may be getting into original content doesn’t mean it can produce good shows – September 1, 2015
Apple made ‘audacious bid’ for Top Gear trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May, but lost out to Bezos’ Amazon – September 1, 2015
Apple’s move into content creation could devastate Netflix and Amazon
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Why would Apple want to make their own movies and TV shows? – September 1, 2015
Apple exploring entry into original entertainment production – August 31, 2015
Just like the Beats deal is profitable already, despite all the doomed calls, so will Apple’s content creation have mass appeal to the demographic that it appeals and to Apple’s bottom line. Innovation in all other asspects of Apple product development and servoces will c0ntonue unabated and like always, will eventually prove the premature ejaculation to be… well, pre mature.
Who cares if it is profitable? They can spend a million dollars on one show. If it make a million and one dollars, who cares? How are they going to judge profitability anyway?
If that is all Apple wants to be is profitable, they can make toilet paper and tomb stones and dildos. Chances are the singing in the car sludge will be profitable. Humans love that crap. I’m not so sure about the app one. Either way, for crying out loud we require a great deal more attention to the Mac side of things, not reality TV.
You do know a million dollars on a TV show is chump change, right?
Game of Thrones averaged about $8 million per episode. The Big Bang Theory $4 million.
Network shows run 24 episodes a season. Most cable stuff 10-12.
So a season of a half hour network comedy is close to $100 million US. That gives you 1/2 hour for 24 episodes.
Extrapolate that out to a full schedule. Offering a full schedule could get really expensive very fast. It will take an awful lot of $10 rental rap subscriptions to amortize that cost unless you have commercials.
Sling gives a slate of channels for for $20 bucks a month. Not sure how Apple matches that for value.
Notwithstanding…
Pipeline Timmy really loves pipelines, unless they’re named Dakota Access or Keystone XL, then his Social Justice Warriorism overtakes all else, including basic common sense.
What if your company could be doing much better in several areas of its core business, but your current CEO also sat on the company’s Board of Directors, raising potential conflicts of interest and an impediment to potential CEO replacement that might benefit the company?
Is your system able to ingest dilbit without getting sick or dying?
When your beloved Canadian Pipeline spills dilbit into precious water supplies who gets to pay for the cleanup. Moreover, there is no way to clean up a water supply fouled by dilbit (Tar Sands “oil”).
From Wikipedia:
A dilbit is a bitumen (asphalt) diluted with one or more lighter petroleum products, typically natural-gas condensates such as naphtha. Diluting bitumen makes it much easier to transport, for example in pipelines.
One spill on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan has cost Enbridge $161 million in fines. Prior to the EPA fine, the company had paid $2.8 billion for clean-up costs. Replacing the damaged Line 6B cost another $1.6 billion.
More than 1 million gallons of tar sands oil spilled for 17 hours before Enbridge shut down the pipeline. The oil spread nearly 40 miles downriver, fouling 4,435 acres of land and kept the river closed for nearly two years.
Close to 7 years later the river has not yet been fully restored. (http://www.mi.gov/oilspill)
I guess a Canadian company polluting our rivers shipping Tar Sands to the Koch refineries on the Gulf Coast to be refined for shipment to a China is making America Great Again. When Keystone polluted The Missouri or the Ogallala Aquifer what will be used to drink and grow food?
That’s why I always watch Masterpiece Theatre Sunday nights on the PBS Music channel. The sound is great!
We’re watching the series called, Victoria.
It’s very good, but I don’t see why they are showing a drama on the PBS Music channel. Oh well, it’s only episode 6. I’m sure there will be some singing before long. I really like musicals!
A waste of time and money, content is low margin.
Whilst TV content is so low IQ already that searching 100 channels might yield two shows that aren’t maddeningly dumb, there is nothing about the description for this new Apple show that seems even slightly appealing. Why would I want to watch a group of mostly libdopes giving tech recommendations? Gwyneth? The person who drove Chris Martin, a seemingly level-headed and successful family and musical career man to want to flee from her bossy presence and seek a divorce. She’s hardly someone most of us would seek advice from.
You wouldn’t want to watch it, and chances are, people like you are the only people who will know about it, seeing as how you keep up with tech news, in particular Apple News.
I know people who live for car kreokee but I doubt they will ever know there is an Apple version.
Are u kidding me… Planet of Apps and Karaoke ….. ! to make a statement against showes from HBO, Amazon, SHO, Netflix..etc….
Original content ?… ……. More like original CRAP !
You cant do something original and cool. .. you might as well do nothing and spare yourself and us the embarrassment.
Man… everything connected to Eddy is in one way or the other crap and convoluted …….why is he still there…….!
And promoting music subscription through movies and tv series? Didnt you learn anything from the convoluted mess ITunes is?
Once they have a bunch of movies and other content available, i shall subscribe to Apple music. For me, Apple music alone is not enough. It’s a great idea and i welcome it.
“Dipping a toe” seems pretty accurate and obviates “get more aggressive”. I wonder what they thought would be less aggressive than toe dipping.
Also changing the Apple Music name would be a good idea if they are going to have other types of media on the same “channel”. Maybe something the competition hasn’t picked like maybe “Apple Trinity” for Music, video and ePublications.