Report: Apple Music's Second Act Includes Exclusives, Algorithms

Apple Music

APPLE MUSIC is using exclusives, like the ones with DRAKE, CHANCE THE RAPPER and FRANK OCEAN, to boost its subscription streaming service, according to a story in BUZZFEED. 

The article quotes APPLE MUSIC's JIMMY IOVINE about the controversial strategy, which has drawn the ire of his former home, UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP when it allowed FRANK OCEAN to inadvertently fulfill his record label contract and go indie. “I don’t know how to do this any other way, except to help make really good music, get it exposed, and get it handled and treated the way it deserves to be treated."

IOVINE also expressed concern with ad-supported free services, most notably APPLE MUSIC's biggest competitor, SPOTIFY. 

BOZOMA SAINT JOHN, head of global consumer marketing for APPLE MUSIC, who co-stars in a new ad for the service with IOVINE and JAMES CORDEN, said about the company's mission: “The question we ask is: In the normal course of your day, how are you actually interacting with music? What are you going to it for? And how can we better serve that up?”

The other big change is the addition of two new personalized playlists: MY FAVORITE MIX and MY NEW MUSIC MIX, both generated by algorithms, a first for the service, which has previously relied on human curation. 

“We were too ambitious in the beginning — we probably put too much into it,” concluded IOVINE. “But we’re getting there now, one foot in front of the other, and the stuff we’re creating I don’t think anyone is gonna see coming.”

« see more Net News