“A music service needs to be more than a bunch of songs and a few playlists,†says Iovine. “I’m trying to help Apple Music be an overall movement in popular culture, everything from unsigned bands to video. We have a lot of plans.â€
Apple is readying several forays into video including a Carpool Karaoke series (recently delayed), Planet of the Apps, and several documentaries.
Apple could release as many as ten original series by the end of the year, “including several documentaries.†DJ Zane Lowe-narrated “808: The Movieâ€, which aired last December, filed as Apple’s first original documentary.
Sources have identified two more shows, one about the legendary hip-hop labels Bad Boy Records and Cash Money Records and another about music impresario Clive Davis. Some of the videos will be made in co-operation with premium partners such as movie director J.J. Abrams and rapper R. Kelly.
“For a music streaming service,†Iovine says, “we’re building a very decent slate.â€
Apple Music hit 20 million subscribers in December 2016.