Tubefilter has an interesting piece about iTunes getting into original content production (ironically the same day Ink publishes an interview with me in which I lament not being able to get Hailey Hacks onto iTunes).
We’ve learned that the first ever original project is a short film about the fictional cult rock band Spinal Tap, dubbed Fade From Black.
This is a significant development for Apple, which is finally flexing the iTunes distribution muscle it so carefully built up in the past eight years—a massive pipeline for Hollywood’s music, TV and film businesses accounting for billions of dollars in annual revenue for the industry. The company has traditionally steered cleared of placing bets on entertainment content, but now it’s putting its own risky production dollars into play.
...Apple CEO Steve Jobs is no stranger to the life of a hollywood mogul, having founded and sold animation studio Pixar to Disney while on his resignation-hiatus from the company (he is now the single largest shareholder in Disney).
We hear that Suzanne Varney at Apple is overseeing the original content for iTunes, and her LinkedIn profile lists her as “Mgr, iTunes Original Content at Apple.” Not much else we know about her or her team, other than she has some entertainment background, coming from a stint at William Morris.
