Apple Music to sponsor Drake's 'Summer Sixteen' tour
Rapper Drake on Monday announced his upcoming "Summer Sixteen" tour, notably highlighting Apple Music as a sponsor -- the first time Apple Music is believed to have backed any concert tour.
The rapper revealed the news on Instagram. The tour will open July 20 in Austin, Tex., also featuring acts like Future, Roy Woods, and DVSN.
Drake has developed a close business relationship with Apple. The company funded the extremely popular music video for "Hotline Bling," and had him appear on stage during last year's Worldwide Developers Conference to pitch Apple Music. Drake's latest album, Views From the 6, will initially be an Apple Music exclusive when it launches on April 29 -- the same day as Summer Sixteen tickets go on sale.
Last year Apple rebranded its iTunes Festival in London as the Apple Music Festival, but supporting tours is a new approach.
Apple Music's main competitors in streaming, Spotify and Tidal, also sponsor concerts. Spotify, for instance, regularly hosts a "Spotify House" during Austin's annual SXSW festival.
In October 2015, reports claimed that the agency representing British pop singer Adele was pitching Apple on a $30 million tour sponsorship. No deal ever materialized however, possibly because one proposed term allegedly involved Apple stocking Adele CDs in its stores -- something highly unlikely given the existence of Apple Music and the iTunes Store.
The rapper revealed the news on Instagram. The tour will open July 20 in Austin, Tex., also featuring acts like Future, Roy Woods, and DVSN.
Drake has developed a close business relationship with Apple. The company funded the extremely popular music video for "Hotline Bling," and had him appear on stage during last year's Worldwide Developers Conference to pitch Apple Music. Drake's latest album, Views From the 6, will initially be an Apple Music exclusive when it launches on April 29 -- the same day as Summer Sixteen tickets go on sale.
Last year Apple rebranded its iTunes Festival in London as the Apple Music Festival, but supporting tours is a new approach.
Apple Music's main competitors in streaming, Spotify and Tidal, also sponsor concerts. Spotify, for instance, regularly hosts a "Spotify House" during Austin's annual SXSW festival.
In October 2015, reports claimed that the agency representing British pop singer Adele was pitching Apple on a $30 million tour sponsorship. No deal ever materialized however, possibly because one proposed term allegedly involved Apple stocking Adele CDs in its stores -- something highly unlikely given the existence of Apple Music and the iTunes Store.
Comments
Eddie Cue reported to have asked: 'Why you looking at me like that, guys?'
(21.6 Million vs 10.6 Million)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markbeech/2016/02/29/adele-fights-off-nerves-to-start-150-million-world-tour/#40e3701244e7
2. I imagine if you look at the demographics, Drake's fans are much more likely to use the service; not data I have, but as a marketing tool, this is much more important information than "Total Tour Revenue"
http://celebrities.prettyfamous.com/l/592995/Adele http://celebrities.prettyfamous.com/l/397618/Drake
Facebook likes - Drake 34.8 M - Adele 65.1 M
Music sales: Adele - 86.2 M - that's 20 M more than Prince - sorry, Drake doesn't seem to appear in the list of best selling music artists https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists
But when Adele's deal was rejected, Apple fans said the only people who listen to her are elderly ladies.
I say Apple sponsor both. The Adele Album in Apple Stores was a little weird though. Maybe a poster instead?
Damn, those soccer mums have deep purses - some of the seat prices for her 2016 concerts are eye watering - over $3 K for one venue in the Netherlands
2 Are they? What better marketing tool could you have than worlds most popular music artist?
2. Well "world's most popular artist" in album sales doesn't really help them sell a service, does it? If most of her fans buy actual copies of the album instead of using Apple Music or Spotify or another service, I don't think it's the audience Apple is after. Adele is old school, which is cool. But that doesn't really mesh with where Apple is trying to push music.