Apple’s Plan To Compete With Spotify? Add Original TV Shows To Apple Music

Image courtesy of Cheri Sundra

A new report claims that Apple now has plans to produce original TV shows and movies, just like Amazon and Netflix have been doing for several years. However, the goal isn’t to compete directly with these streaming video platforms, but to bolster the Apple Music streaming audio service.

This is according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports that Apple wants to produce the same kind of original programming that has garnered awards, positive reviews, and audience buzz for Netflix and Amazon Prime. What Apple doesn’t want to do is spend the billions of additional dollars that would be required to license other studios’ content in order to offer a subscription video plan.

Instead, say the Journal’s sources, Apple would offer its original content as a bonus to Apple Music, the $10/month plan Apple launched in the summer of 2015, but which still has only about half the subscriber base as Spotify.

Apple has recently produced a handful of music-related original videos, but nothing on the level of the scripted original content the company reportedly hopes to begin producing this year.

In an effort to woo producers, Apple would reportedly be more open to sharing ratings and demographic information with the studios it teams with. Netflix has been notoriously guarded about viewership data.

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