Apple Wanted to Buy Rap-Battle Series 'Verzuz'

Apple was interested in purchasing rap-battle music platform Verzuz prior to when it was acquired by video network Triller, reports Bloomberg.

verzuz
Apple offered Verzuz an acquisition price that was lower than the price that Triller paid. Apple decided not to enter into a bidding war for Verzuz.

Verzuz started out as an Instagram Live series created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland during the pandemic, with the series debuting in March 2020. Verzuz pits two artists against one another in a friendly competition.

Apple Music began showing Verzuz episodes in July 2020 at the same time as they were portrayed on Instagram Live. Triller purchased the rights to Verzuz in March 2021, and Verzuz is now streamed in the Triller app instead of through ‌Apple Music‌.

Verzuz has featured Alicia Keys, Erykah Badu, John Legend, DJ Nice, Snoop Dog, DMX, Brandy, Patti Labelle, Gladys Knight, Ludaris, Nelly, and others.

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Top Rated Comments

Websnapx2 Avatar
54 months ago

yeah, i know the words were explained. Doesn't mean i have any idea what any of this means. What's a "rap-battle music platform?"
First, it's not just rap — acts like Earth, Wind + Fire, Teddy Riely, Erika Badu, Gladys Knight and Pattie LaBelle have participated.

Basically, it's two artists head to head, playing their music streaming live in front of an audience. Each round, they pick a song they want to play from their catalog (they could be the main or feature artist), and the "opponent" plays one to compete against it — with the idea being that those at home watching can choose which they like best of the two. It's just for fun and the match-ups are meant to pair similar style/era artists (Earth, Wind & Fire vs The Isley Brothers, Alicia Keys vs John Legend).

The idea behind it was that due to the pandemic shutting down performances and touring, the two that started it (Swizz Beats and Timbaland, two writer/producers with huge clout in the industry) started this to give artists a platform to continue to perform and continue to drive interest in artists affected by the lack of touring. The series popularity quickly drew in many viewers as a way to cope while on quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became a vehicle for viewers to laugh, sing-a-long, dance, go back in time feeling nostalgic, watch other entertainers communicate and interact with one another through comments and replies while watching and also with each other on-screen during battle, and also it united everyone together during the crisis.

I watched more than a handful of them and they were fantastic... once technical hurdles were overcome.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEXTERITY Avatar
54 months ago
A lot of ignorant comments. It would have been a good purchase.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Asarien Avatar
54 months ago
That would have been a big get. Good for Triller, though.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
54 months ago
Good to know I won't be missing anything.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JML5150 Avatar
54 months ago

First, it's not just rap — acts like Earth, Wind + Fire, Teddy Riely, Erika Badu, Gladys Knight and Pattie LaBelle have participated.

Basically, it's two artists head to head, playing their music streaming live in front of an audience. Each round, they pick a song they want to play from their catalog (they could be the main or feature artist), and the "opponent" plays one to compete against it — with the idea being that those at home watching can choose which they like best of the two. It's just for fun and the match-ups are meant to pair similar style/era artists (Earth, Wind & Fire vs The Isley Brothers, Alicia Keys vs John Legend).

The idea behind it was that due to the pandemic shutting down performances and touring, the two that started it (Swizz Beats and Timbaland, to writer/producers with huge clout in the industry) started this to give artists a platform to continue to perform and continue to drive interest in artists affected by the lack of touring. The series popularity quickly drew in many viewers as a way to cope while on quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, it became a vehicle for viewers to laugh, sing-a-long, dance, go back in time feeling nostalgic, watch other entertainers communicate and interact with one another through comments and replies while watching and also with each other on-screen during battle, and also it united everyone together during the crisis.

I watched more than a handful of them and they were fantastic... once technical hurdles were overcome.
Thank you for a true synopsis. I've multiple half ass articles on this subject today and yours has been the most comprehensive take. Some of there writers and comments are coming off like angry nerds that rebel against pop culture to sound cool. I'm not a huge fan of country music, but I'm not going to expend energy to denigrate a genre of music that someone grew up with and hold dear. These blogs wrote more thoughtful pieces on the Pride band. Hip Hop generates billions of dollars every year. Culture Vultures like Apple tried to get a piece but didn't want to pay current market value, the end.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
54 months ago
Verzuz. Triller.

This post may as well be greek for all I understand of it.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)