Apple TV+ is carving out a niche of musical documentaries. It’s latest project is The Velvet Underground. This will be, of course, about the 1960s band that found little success in its day, but went on to be hugely influential.
The Velvet Underground is the most important band you’ve (probably) never heard of
The band The Velvet Underground had singer-songwriter and guitarist Lou Reed as its frontman when it formed in 1965. Its music was avant-garde and deliberately non-commercial. It even had Andy Warhol as manager for a time. The group’s creative ethos was, “how to be elegant and how to be brutal.”
The band was together for about a decade, but never achieved financial or critical success in its era. Nevertheless, it’s remembered today for the huge influence it had on young musicians. Producer Brian Eno is quoted as saying, “The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.”
The Apple TV+ feature documentary The Velvet Underground will show how the group became a cultural icon. It features interviews with the key players of that time combined with a trove of never-before-seen performances and a collection of recordings, Warhol films, and other experimental art.
It’s being directed by Academy Award-nominated director Todd Haynes.
There’s no word yet on what this documentary will be released on Apple’s streaming service.
Apple TV+ building a library of music documentaries
The Velvet Underground is only the latest in a string of documentaries about musicians from Apple TV+. That includes Beastie Boys Story, a documentary about these rappers from director Spike Jonze. And Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You explores the life of this rocker. Coming in 2021 is Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry.
These are all available only on Apple TV+. The service costs $4.99 a month, but includes over 40 shows and movies, from action series like Tehran to feature films like Tom Hanks’ Greyhound. And it’s the new home of Peanuts.
Source: Apple
