James Corden has had a successful run as late-night host since he took over CBS'* Late Late Show *nearly two years ago, but his biggest impact hasn't been on television—it's been on YouTube, where videos of his show's signature segment, “Carpool Karaoke,” have racked up nearly half a billion views. The segment's appeal is undeniable: recognizable people singing recognizable songs in a recognizable situation.
And now Apple is turning it into a series. To launch its foray into original programming.
Yes, starting in April, Carpool Karaoke: The Series will be coming to an Apple Music subscription near you. After months of being tight-lipped about its plans for original content, Apple’s head of internet software and services Eddy Cue unveiled the first trailer for the show last night at Recode's Code Media conference. He also announced that Apple will release another show this spring called Planet of the Apps. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow and will.i.am and kinda looks like Shark Tank—but for apps. (It also just looks bad.)
Again, they're calling it original content.
This isn’t Apple making a big play for original programming; this is Apple seasoning the steak you’re already enjoying to see if you might like it. (The company did a similar dance when it partnered with Vice for The Score.) Cue admitted to this when he told the conference “four years from now, I don’t know where we’re going to be in relation to this. We’re trying different things. How fast it grows or where it goes remains to be seen.” The goal of having original content may be to lure consumers to Apple Music, but the service already attracted 20 million users in 15 months. It doesn’t have to race to grow its base.
And with a show like Carpool Karaoke, it likely won’t. The entire schtick of HOV-lane sing-alongs is perfect for YouTube. Outside of people who write about viral videos and insomniacs, though, very few people consider The Late Late Show appointment television (confession: I'm one of those people). Worse, they know that everything they’ll need to see will be all over the internet the next morning. The chances that someone will plunk down $10 a month just to watch it are slim. The odds that they’ll throw it on occasionally because they already have Apple Music, however, are much higher. (Can’t say the same for Planet of the Apps, though, unless people accidentally click on it looking for Charlton Heston.)
It’s not really that much different than the playbook of other streaming services. Netflix built a base delivering content from Hollywood studios until it had an audience ready to devour House of Cards. Hulu did the same, albeit doing it on TV networks' dime. Now Apple is hitting that playbook, capitalizing on the base it built through exclusivity windows from artists like Frank Ocean and Chance the Rapper in order to own content. The surprising part about it is that Apple isn't making a splash, it's dipping a toe. If you’re Apple and you want content, why not just buy a studio?
Cue disregarded that question at the Code Media conference, as well as comparisons to Netflix saying, “we’re not out trying to buy a bunch of shows. ... We’re trying things that are creative, that move culture.” Whether putting Will Smith in a helicopter to sing R. Kelly’s seminal “I Believe I Can Fly" qualifies as either is up for debate. Belting out shower songs with with Corden and friends is fun, but if Apple wants to attract new subscribers, the company is going to have to sing a different tune.
