Since Apple Music was officially announced, Apple has had a deep partnership with rapper Drake, even bringing him on stage last year at WWDC to discuss Connect. Drake and Apple reportedly inked a $19 million deal to have the rapper host a show on Beats 1 among other things, and now, BuzzFeed News reports that Drake’s highly anticipated new album “Views From The 6” will be an Apple Music exclusive when released on April 29th…but only for a week.
Drake’s “Views From The 6” has been highly anticipated following the rapper’s last solo release, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.” That mixtape, released last February, was a smash success in terms of streaming, setting records on Apple Music-rival Spotify.
It’s interesting, however, that the exclusive window for “Views From The 6” is so short for Apple Music considering the company’s strong relationship with Drake. From his perspective, however, Drake has every reason in the world to try and make the album as available as possible. Kanye West, for instance, limited the availability of his latest album “The Life of Pablo” to Tidal at first release and saw a variety of consequences, including increased piracy and a lack of revenue. Despite saying he would never do it though, West has since released the album on other streaming services, including Apple Music.
Drake’s most recent move with Apple came with the use of his and Future’s song “Jumpman” in an Apple Music ad starring Taylor Swift. The ad reportedly drove sales of Drake’s music up over 400 percent in iTunes.
I’ve long argued that exclusive content is what’s going to set Apple Music apart from the competition, and despite the fact that it’s only exclusive for a week, Apple securing the rights to “Views From The 6” is a huge step in that direction. An album as highly-anticipated as Drake’s will likely drive users of other streaming services to at least sign up for the free Apple Music trial, and those users could potentially turn in to long-term users.
Remember, his name is Drake and he thanks you for your time.
