Rapper Drake and Apple have a great partnership since the launch of Apple Music in 2015. Now reports hint that Drake's much-awaited album Views From The 6 will be exclusive to Apple Music.
According to a report from BuzzFeed, Views From The 6 will be exclusive to Apple Music, albeit only for a week. Views From The 6 is poised for an April 29 release.
"When Drake releases his long-awaited album Views From The 6 on April 29, you'll only be able to hear it in one place: Apple Music. However, the exclusive is not going to last: After seven days, the album will go to other platforms, BuzzFeed News has confirmed," reports the publication.
Views From The 6 follows Drake's solo release If You're Reading This It's Too Late, which was a smash hit on streaming services when the mixtape released in February 2015. The album was a runaway hit on Spotify, Apple Music's arch rival.
While Apple Music may have the impending album as an exclusive for seven days, once the time window expires, people will be able to access the album on other platforms as well.
Even though a week may not seem to be a very long time period, as the competition in the streaming space heats up, services are upping the ante and trying aggressive marketing tactics to help differentiate themselves from rivals. Due to this, many services have taken on partnerships with big artists and ask for exclusivity to release their albums on a single platform. The advantage of this ploy is that the service can lure more subscribers.
Drake reportedly inked a deal worth $19 million with Apple in 2015. The popular rap artist also came on stage during the Worldwide Developers Conference in 2015 to help the company pitch its Apple Music, as well Future's and his collaborative effort Jumpman.
Judging by Drake's previous track record on Spotify, the gamble of exclusively releasing Views From The 6 could pay of potentially for Apple and it could well hit the jackpot.
However, the possibility of taking the exclusive rights route can often backfire. It can result in limiting the streaming revenues, as well as give a fillip to piracy.
Moreover, it can also lead to the album being kept off the charts. Case in point Kanye West when he released The Life of Pablo on Tidal exclusively. Even Drake ran into this issue with his Hotline Bling, which even though became a smash hit on streaming services, could not go on to become a Billboard No. 1. This may have possibly happened as Apple Music desisted against the release of the music video's streaming numbers Nielsen.
Views From the 6 includes singles such as One Dance and Pop Style. Once Dance is already exclusive to Apple Music.
