by Dan Moren
Dr. Dre series aims to “extend” Apple Music
Over at Re/code, Peter Kafka sheds a little more light on the Apple-produced Dr. Dre series first reported last week:
So, again: Is Apple really getting into the TV business? Yes. But also, not really.
The real answer is more modest: Apple has already been financing video content it uses to market Apple Music – “to extend Apple Music,” in the words of an insider. And it’s doing that with the Dre show. Full stop.
That makes a little more sense to me than the original story. Not that I can’t see Apple getting into in-house produced content, Ã la Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon–I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Cupertino made moves in that direction over the next few years. But it seems odd that the company would a) offer a scripted series for sale, rather than as part of a streaming service and b) that it would launch into this realm with a decidedly adult-themed series, and nothing else.
Services are big for Apple: the company made no bones about that when it released its results last quarter. If the Dre series is made available to Apple Music subscribers, well, custom content might be a way for Apple to attract more paying customers.