YouTube/DrakeVevo
Apple didn't just buy a line of headphones and a streaming music app when it bought Beats in 2014 for $3 billion.
It also acquired a full-blown pop-star promotion operation.
Led by Apple Music boss Jimmy Iovine and Larry Jackson, head of original content at Apple Music, it's throwing immense resources at big-time musicians, Rolling Stone reports.
One of the big projects that Apple Music is doing is that it's funding scores of music videos and concert documentaries. (Apple's also trying to nail down streaming exclusives.)
In the past year, Apple has actually paid for several very high-profile videos, from stars like Drake, Taylor Swift, and Eminem.
And as it turns out, the music videos being made with Apple's money are pretty cool — and sometimes edgy. In one example, Apple CEO Tim Cook even weighed in a video made by singer M.I.A. about refugees.
Take a look:
The most famous Apple-funded music video is Drake's "Hotline Bling," which debuted on Apple Music.Drake/INSIDERIt's a simple video — Drake kind of just dances in place — but the James Turrell-inspired video has racked up over 811 million views on YouTube.YouTube/DrakeVevo
Watch it here:
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Apple also funded The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face," which he performed live for the world premiere of the single at the end of an Apple keynote. The song was first released on Apple Music, and has since racked up 600 million views on YouTube.YouTube/TheWeeknd
The video ends with The Weeknd dancing while on fire — filmed with high production value, obviously. "Can't Feel My Face" ended up going platinum five times over. According to Rolling Stone, there's another version of the video that has never seen the light of day.YouTube/TheWeekndVevo
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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