Tying into the 57th Annual Grammy awards, Apple's latest TV spot shows how the iPad can untie musicmakers from consoles and power outlets without disconnecting them from each other.
The minute-long iPad ad uses Swedish singer and rapper Elliphant's remix of "All or Nothing" to showcase how the iPad can serve as the heart of the music-making process from start to delivery.
"iPad is changing how we live, work, and create more and more each day," says Apple. "For recording artist Elliphant, it's liberating her to make music in a radical new way. And whether she's writing lyrics at home or recording on the road, iPad has become an essential part of her process. It was even used by director So Me to shoot this film."
Elliphant collaborated with English producer Riton, LA DJ Gaslamp Killer and Parisian filmmaker So Me to remix "All or Nothing." The Swedish rapper and her fellow artist collaborated via FaceTime to rework the song and deliver it to a raucous crowd of fans.
With both a digital notepad and a mobile mixing board, Elliphant used her iPad to pen lyrics. To record vocal samples, she used GarageBand and Apogee MiC.
With vocals rolling through, Riton began blending beats and breaks with a bit of dancehall flair. The English producer used NanoStudio and iMPC, a digital version of a drum machine that once would sell for thousands of dollars.
"He created samples and beats with iMPC Pro to accompany her latest vocal track, then switched over to NanoStudio to add effects and fine-tune the mix," says Apple. "The two collaborated via FaceTime throughout the songwriting process."
From there, the pair met up in a studio to record and mix down the track. The iPad, of course, was shown being used as a mobile music monitor, allowing Riton to keep track of the levels.
The ad's winds down, or "turns up," with a Beats vibe, a hallmark of the headphones brand Apple acquired and an indicator of the company's aspirations to maintain its youthful appeal. So Me records the frenetic show at which Elliphant and Gaslamp Killer move through the audience, rocking out with microphones and iPads.
The iPad ad comes as the tablet comes off noticeably smaller sales peak and ahead of what analysts predict to be its most pronounced decline to date. KGI Research forecasts a 30 percent, year-over-year, decline in iPad sales in 2015. KGI predicts Apple will sell 44 million to 45 million units during 2015 and says while the expected 12.9-inch iPad model can create an improved user experience with enhanced productivity, it probably won't "contribute meaningfully to shipments momentum anytime soon."
Check out the video shown -- Apple wants you to do so:
