Apple's 'Carpool Karaoke' spinoff set for Aug. 8 debut on Apple Music

AppleInsider · May 30, 2017 8:57PM

Apple on Tuesday announced an Aug. 8 debut for "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," which will be available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers.

The show is a spinoff of a segment on "The Late Late Show With James Corden," and will feature a series of celebrity guests such as Will Smith, Metallica, John Cena, Ariana Grande, and "Game of Thrones" co-stars Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner. There will be 16 pairings in all, with each episode lasting 30 minutes.

Apple's senior VP of Internet and Software Services, Eddy Cue, originally promised that the show would debut in April. Towards the end of that month though the company admitted that the show would only arrive later in the year.

"Carpool Karaoke" is thought to be one of several flagships for original video programming on Apple Music. Another, the reality show "Planet of the Apps," is still in limbo.

In the meantime the company is releasing a string of documentaries about topics like Bad Boy Records, Cash Money Records, and music executive Clive Davis.

Still more projects are believed to be in development. The company has reportedly been expanding its footprint in the Los Angeles area, with additional rumors suggesting that it might buy studio space or even take over Sony Pictures Entertainment.

spice-boy · May 30, 2017 9:13PM

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

lkrupp · May 30, 2017 9:42PM

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

bdkennedy1002 · May 30, 2017 9:55PM

Eddy Cue's firing set for September 8 debut.

bdkennedy1002 · May 30, 2017 9:56PM

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

Rayz2016 · May 30, 2017 10:10PM

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

Right, so what you're saying is that PCs are the future. The actual puck is skating towards PCs, yes?

Soli · May 30, 2017 10:12PM

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

We did have new Macs 2 years ago. We've also had new Macs last year and will surely have new Macs this year.

boeyc15 · May 30, 2017 10:33PM

I guess the most polite thing to say --- Good luck with that Apple!

robin huber · May 30, 2017 10:38PM

There is no reason Apple cannot produce great content. Pixar might be a great place to start since they have a history together. Remember, Apple, like Netflix, is just a producer, not a studio. A producer just needs money and good taste in the arts. Apple has plenty of both. My only concern is that they seem overly cautious. Carpool Karaoke is the best they can come up with? And for some reason I just hate that fawning obsequious Corden character--at least it seems he won't be involved. There are plenty of great directors, writers, and actors who would jump at the chance to create films or series on Apple's dime. What are they waiting for?

Soli · May 30, 2017 10:39PM

Remember when people laughed at HBO producing original content? I do.
Remember when people laughed at Netflix for producing original content? I do.

So why is Apple producing original original content so unrealistic?

Soli · May 30, 2017 10:49PM

robin huber said:

My only concern is that they seem overly cautious. Carpool Karaoke is the best they can come up with? And for some reason I just hate that Corden character--at least it seems he won't be involved. There are plenty of great directors, writers, and actors who would jump at the chance to create films or series on Apple's dime. What are they waiting for?

1) Corden is a character, he's a real person that hosts a late-night talk show. His story is pretty interesting since he was plucked for his show while being a stage performer without any prior interest or consideration. He's not a comedian by trade. Great interview on Howard Stern. I can't find the clip where he

https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/6/7/james-corden-how-mariah-careys-carpool-karaoke-almost-turned-wreck/

2) Corden is absolutely involved. It's a spin-off series based on The Late Late Show with James Corden's popular segment. Apple can't just steal it from him and CBS. If you mean he won't be physical on the series, from clips that I saw he is on it.

3) It's good to keep in mind that this series is a vehicle for promoting Apple Music and artists/albums on Apple Music. Maybe they'll put the episodes on YouTube or iTunes Store, but since I'm not an Apple Music subscriber I'm actually not sure if I'll be able to watch these episodes in an Apple-authorized manner.

robin huber · May 31, 2017 12:43AM

Soli said:

robin huber said:

My only concern is that they seem overly cautious. Carpool Karaoke is the best they can come up with? And for some reason I just hate that Corden character--at least it seems he won't be involved. There are plenty of great directors, writers, and actors who would jump at the chance to create films or series on Apple's dime. What are they waiting for?

1) Corden is a character, he's a real person that hosts a late-night talk show. His story is pretty interesting since he was plucked for his show while being a stage performer without any prior interest or consideration. He's not a comedian by trade. Great interview on Howard Stern. I can't find the clip where he

https://www.howardstern.com/show/2016/6/7/james-corden-how-mariah-careys-carpool-karaoke-almost-turned-wreck/

2) Corden is absolutely involved. It's a spin-off series based on The Late Late Show with James Corden's popular segment. Apple can't just steal it from him and CBS. If you mean he won't be physical on the series, from clips that I saw he is on it.

3) It's good to keep in mind that this series is a vehicle for promoting Apple Music and artists/albums on Apple Music. Maybe they'll put the episodes on YouTube or iTunes Store, but since I'm not an Apple Music subscriber I'm actually not sure if I'll be able to watch these episodes in an Apple-authorized manner.

He may be a "real" person, but that alone is not compelling to me. Guess I'm just sick of the whole reality/celebrity genre. It arrived on the scene as a result of a writers strike some years ago—producers desperate for unscripted content. Now TV is filled with it. And the no-talent Kardashian types that have glommed onto it. It's lazy and waste of potential for the one possible source that most Americans experience for the possibility of performing arts. Now the only place to get that is HBO, Netflix, etc. Would love Apple to join that club, not the Duck Dynasty one.

I have family subscription ro Apple Music and none of us watch music videos on it.

StrangeDays · May 31, 2017 2:24AM

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

If you're referring to the Pro, they took a chance on parallel GPU processing. It didn't pan out -- but nobody can be right all the time. The fact that they take such risks is why they're the most successful and profitable public company in human history. I know this hurts.

But the 5k retina Mac (which was new 2 years ago) and rMBPs are great machines.

cali · May 31, 2017 5:21AM

Soli said:

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

We did have new Macs 2 years ago. We've also had new Macs last year and will surely have new Macs this year.

What the hell?

what about touch bar?

and where are my CD ROMs Apple? Are you skating at all??

Rayz2016 · May 31, 2017 5:27AM

StrangeDays said:

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

If you're referring to the Pro, they took a chance on parallel GPU processing. It didn't pan out -- but nobody can be right all the time. The fact that they take such risks is why they're the most successful and profitable public company in human history. I know this hurts.

But the 5k retina Mac (which was new 2 years ago) and rMBPs are great machines.

And in the future, other things they try won't pan out, just like the Mac Pro, just like the Cube. For every success they have, there are a dozen failures that people conveniently forget about so they can spread the rhetoric that Apple is done without Jobs.

Soli · May 31, 2017 5:31AM

Rayz2016 said:
For every success they have, there are a dozen failures that people conveniently forget about so they can spread the rhetoric that Apple is done without Jobs.

I'd wager that the people that are saying Apple can't survive without Jobs are mostly the same people that said Apple couldn't survive with Jobs.

bestkeptsecret · May 31, 2017 6:13AM

I have never seen Carpool Karaoke in it's original form. I have no idea what it is. I am excited to see what Apple has to offer. I'm looking forward to this.

Soli · May 31, 2017 6:15AM

bestkeptsecret said:

I have never seen Carpool Karaoke in it's original form. I have no idea what it is. I am excited to see what Apple has to offer. I'm looking forward to this.

And if you don't want to watch the clip at least check out the views that this videos get. Now keep in mind that this first aired on his show before being uploaded to his YouTube channel. Now, I've read that uploaded get an average $2,000 for every million views, but it all depends on a variety of factors so I'm guessing a popular show like his and the length being nearly 15 minutes means CBS gets a lot more than the average, but I'll still with $2,000 to keep it simple. At 159 million views that's still $318,000. How much do you think that cost to make? Even if they paid Adele—which may not even be the case since part of performing is promoting on talk shows—I think they're still coming out ahead with just YouTube views.

dachar · May 31, 2017 7:16AM

I think Apple are doing Carpool Karaoke as a hook to getting new subscribers to Apple Music just like Amazon did with the Grand Tour, their version of Top Gear. In both cases they are very popular internationally. It's a smart move and will easily pay for itself.

macxpress · May 31, 2017 12:12PM

bdkennedy said:

lkrupp said:

spice-boy said:

Stick to hardware and software ladies and gents.

And die a horrible death from stagnation? Apple is experimenting with content production. They’re starting small with this seemingly inane stuff but people LOVE watching music videos. I have no problem with Apple trying to branch out into areas they see as profitable over time. You on the other hand don’t seem to know where the puck will be in ten years. Apple apparently does.

If Apple knew where the puck was, we would have had new Macs two years ago.

Or maybe the puck isn't the Mac platform? Apple changed their name from Apple Computer to Apple, Inc for a reason.

sammysamsam · May 31, 2017 1:55PM

Soli said:

Remember when people laughed at HBO producing original content? I do.
Remember when people laughed at Netflix for producing original content? I do.

So why is Apple producing original original content so unrealistic?

HBO original content.
Netflix original content.
Carpool Karaoke.
One of these things are not like the others.

Apple's 'Carpool Karaoke' spinoff set for Aug. 8 debut on Apple Music

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