Apple and Burberry team up for streaming music channel

Dive Brief:

Apple Music will feature a channel dedicated to Burberry, the British upscale fashion brand said Monday.
The new streaming service will feature videos and songs with British music artists, with whom the brand already works via its Burberry Acoustic collaborations.
The collaboration is the first deal between the tech company and the fashion brand since Apple hired former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to be its retail chief.

Dive Insight:

Apple says that 11 million people have signed on to its music streaming service, launched in June, compared to the 75 million active users competitor Spotify enjoys. Burberry, meanwhile, has a well established five-year-old campaign featuring performances and music from British artists that it calls Burberry Acoustic.

Apple products, with their precise design and solid manufacturing, have long been mass market products with higher price tags and have enjoyed solid footing with the high-fashion crowd. Still, this partnership is another example of Apple’s recent outright tilt to luxury, more pronounced through its marketing and sales of its Watch. Upscale brand Hermès, for example, was recently enlisted to make high-end bands for the Watch.

"With Apple Watch, Apple is entering new territory, embracing luxury and the required scarcity of supply that comes with a luxury label," independent analyst Neil Cybart told Mashable.

Those without the wallet to get an Apple Watch Hermès, though, can still tune in to the Burberry channel, at least if they’re going to pony up the $10 a month for Apple’s streaming service.