Apple today launched Apple Music TV, a free 24-hour curated livestream of popular music videos that will also include “exclusive new music videos and premiers, special curated music video blocks, and live shows and events as well as chart countdowns and guests,” according to the announcement.
Apple Music TV will be available to U.S. residents only on the Apple Music app and the Apple TV app. It can be found at apple.co/AppleMusicTV and in the browse tab in the Apple Music and Apple TV app.
The service premiered Monday morning (Oct. 19) with a countdown of the top 100 all-time most-streamed songs in the U.S. on Apple Music.
While there’d been vague talk about an Apple music channel for years, it was still a surprise when Apple Music TV suddenly appeared at 9 a.m. ET on Monday morning. Being an Apple product, of course it’s launching with a splash, starting off with videos of Apple Music’s all-time top 100 songs and following later in the week with a full day of Bruce Springsteen programming on Thursday, with videos and an hour-long interview by Zane Lowe culminating with a virtual event with 1,000 fans when the album drops. But despite the big Bruce look, make no mistake: Apple Music TV is about hits, as Rachel Newman, the company’s Global head of editorial and content, told Variety on Monday morning, just 90 minutes after the new channel launched.
There hasn’t been anything on this scale since old-school MTV. What need is this fulfilling in the Apple universe and the industry as a whole?
I think the purpose of this is really to create another space for consumers to enjoy music. We want to serve all kinds of music lovers, and often even lean-forward music fans want a lean-back solution that they can set and forget. We just think it’s an awesome way to experience music.Will there be ads?
No, there will not be ads.
MacDailyNews Take: So, imagine the original MTV without ads and (for good or bad, depending on your taste or lack thereof) contemporary music.