How Music Drowns Apple’s Innovation

Of all the things that are a little odd about Apple’s new “Planet of the Apps” reality show, perhaps the strangest is that—unlike virtually every show on television—you won’t be able to download the series through iTunes. With the exception of the first episode, you’ll have to be an Apple Music subscriber to watch it.

Perhaps the move marks an attempt to turn Apple Music into a broader media bundle of the sort that continues to pique my interest. But history would suggest it is something different: evidence that Apple’s deep-seated identity as a music company has gone from asset to Achilles’ heel.