Back in 2015, Apple announced Apple Music Connect. The platform limped along until 2019, when it was mercifully put down. It was Apple’s second attempt at creating a music-centric social network, the first and even more short-lived platform being “Ping,” which launched in September 2010 and lasted only until September 2012.
The original Apple Music Connect was a social media platform that was a part of the Apple Music ecosystem that was designed to allow artists to connect directly with their fans by posting lyrics, music tracks, photos, videos, and more. However, artists never took to the platform, and it shut down four short years after it debuted.
Now, Apple Music Connect has made a comeback, although the new “Connect” is designed for use by record labels and music distributors, and offer a social media feature called social templates that allows labels to quickly and easily promote their artists and tunes on established social media platforms.
Introducing Apple Music Connect.
A resource for labels and distributors to promote content, pitch priority releases, upload press photos, and create beautiful marketing assets—for all your artists—all in one place.
The new service is intended to be a “web-based tool that allows you to easily manage the promotional and marketing activities for all of your artists in one, centralized location.”
The service’s tools include promotional templates with artwork. tools to “get your artists on our radar,” and a spot for Apple Music to request publicity materials. Tools for creating embedded players, badges, and affiliate links are also available.
Apple Music Connect is part of the “Apple Music for Partners” program, which is an existing service. It is only available to those working in the music industry. Users are not allowed to apply, and instead are directed to “reach out to someone in your organization.”
