Music Business Worldwide:

Apple has launched a new internal division dedicated to music publishing and music publishers, MBW understands, led by respected exec Elena Segal.

Segal, who was previously Legal Director of iTunes International, is stepping up to become Apple Music’s Global Director of Music Publishing.

And:

MBW hears that the new music publishing team at Apple Music will contain sub-divisions including Operations, Commercial, Publisher Relations and A&R. (The latter refers to assisting the music industry with the development of key songwriters, rather than signing talent directly.)

And from this follow-on post:

A transformation is coming to the way that Apple reports streaming data – both to the industry and to the public via its charts.

And:

The music business has long used Apple’s iTunes download charts as a key barometer of success. Yet it’s fair to say that, in recent years, Spotify’s global and territorial streaming charts have become a more frequent point of reference for labels and artists than Apple Music’s equivalents.

Apple clearly wants to change that.

Interesting. Two sides here: On one side is music publishing. Will this trigger another round of negotiations with Apple Records or does the current deal allow for an Apple music publishing arm?

Will Apple connect their music publishing with their in-the-works video content publishing? Will there be an all-you-can-eat deal, so i can pay one price and get all the music, as well as all the video content?

The other side: The way I read these posts, as well as Apple’s help wanted ad for a Charts & Market Analytics Manager, Apple is modernizing their charts and data sharing, perhaps with an aim of taking on some of the gains Spotify has made in this space.