Lights, camera, Apple: Cupertino makes music videos for Apple Music stars

Apple is getting one step closer to becoming its own record label by creating its own artistic content — having recently produced in-house music videos for top-name artists such as Drake, Eminem and Pharrell.
The videos — which include Em’s “Phenomonal” and Pharrell’s “Happy” — debuted on Apple Music. Future artists Apple will reportedly be producing videos for include M.I.A., Purity Ring, Diddy and James Bay.

The move makes perfect sense for Apple, given the company’s obvious desire to be more than just another content distributor like Spotify. We’ve reported previously about Apple’s desire to pick up plenty of artist exclusives for Apple Music, and what better way to secure these than to produce them yourself?

Apple is certainly no stranger to producing videos, having long taken a very active role in its celebrated commercials. In 2013, Apple made the decision to bring more of its advertising in-house by hiring multiple employees from Media Arts Lab, the division of ad agency TBWA that created work exclusively for Apple.

The results include memorable ads such as the one featuring Robin Williams reciting lines from the movie Dead Poets Society.

Hopefully Apple can unleash a bit of that Cupertino magic to produce some truly memorable music videos. Based on the new (great) video for Drake’s “Energy” single, we’re going to answer with a resounding “yes!” Check it out below:

Source: Pitchfork

Luke Dormehl

Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.