New York Times talks to Apple Music executives about huge year

The New York Times is really good at hiding its great reporting. This time, a piece on Apple Music’s fantastic year which almost slipped past me.

Apple Music: Platform? Promoter? Both.

Then there were Drake's commercials with Taylor Swift. "I don't think anybody could argue against the incredible value…

Some choice quotes from the Times’ interview with Apple Music executives Larry Jackson and Jimmy Iovine:

JACKSON It’s still consistently a very powerful messaging tool, just marketing for the concept of streaming. With all of the biggest artists of the year — namely Beyoncé, Drake, Frank [Ocean] — a big part of their rollout was really driven by streaming. If those artists are releasing music that way, how could it not be a public education as far as what streaming is all about?

IOVINE We wanted to work with Frank Ocean. We had a deal — we were working with Frank Ocean, and he controlled where his music came out. Why would it be in our interest to be part of a fast one, a slow one or any one? We were getting the record no matter what. Whatever happened with him and Universal is really between him and Universal. It has nothing to do with us. Nothing.

JACKSON [Kanye’s] a good friend of mine. He talks about our relationship on the song “Saint Pablo.” We’ll always work together — not everything has to be business. Jimmy and I went to the studio two times to hear the album and give feedback, not for any reason other than we love him as an artist and we just wanted to help.

IOVINE He was part of Jay’s thing and chose to make a deal with his friend, and I respect that. I kind of felt like it was going to happen before it did. Jay Z and Kanye — that’s a very natural thing for them to work together. Everybody moves on. You try to do the best with what you’ve got and ignore everything else. That’s why horses get blinders in horse racing: You look at the horse next to you, and you lose a step.