Apple Music is widening its push beyond tunes into video, working with digital media company Vice to produce and distribute a six-part documentary series on its subscription streaming-music service.
“The Score” will focus on under-the-radar music scenes like hip-hop created by Minnesota’s Native American nations and “township techno” in South Africa. Each of its six episodes, which will roll out every two weeks, will be coupled with a playlist of songs on the Apple subscription service.
Apple launched the $10-a-month service last year as a late-in-the-game play to catch up with smaller rivals who were dominating a consumer shift toward streaming music rather than paying for tracks in iTunes. U.S. streaming-music revenue surpassed downloads for the first time last year, according to sales data from the major music labels’ trade group this week.
But as Apple’s main rival Spotify has broadened its media into video, Apple has followed suit. The Vice program follows Apple’s announcement of a six-part drama series in collaboration with rapper Dr. Dre and a Taylor Swift concert special of her latest world tour.
Vice frequently produces series for a laundry list of partners, including Time Warner’s HBO and CNN.