A new report today looks at how the deal for Planet of the Apps came together with Apple Music's Jimmy Iovine and how Iovine is in the midst of reinventing Apple's famed iTunes app. The report notes that Will.i.am was shopping a reality show to TV networks when he met Apple Music guru Jimmy Iovine on the office terrace where Iovine likes to do his biggest deals alfresco. The two go way back; Iovine signed the musician when he was running Interscope Records. The music legend loved will.i.am's idea, a Shark Tank-style competition for new apps, and before long he'd persuaded him and TV producer Ben Silverman to pitch it to Eddy Cue, who runs Apple Inc.'s services business and is the company's conduit to Hollywood.

Will.i.am bailed on a meeting with a TV network and headed for Cupertino, Calif., where he met Cue and soon after agreed to make the program for Apple Music, the tech giant's two-year-old streaming service and an increasingly important part of the Apple universe. With iTunes sales in decline and streaming services such as Spotify on the rise, Apple wants to see if it can turn its music app into a one-stop shop for pop culture—and keep customers tethered to their iPhones.

Iovine said that 'A music service needs to be more than a bunch of songs and a few playlists. I'm trying to help Apple Music be an overall movement in popular culture, everything from unsigned bands to video. We have a lot of plans.'

Apple Music's foray into video programming could be a temporary dalliance, but if Iovine succeeds, the world's wealthiest company could increase its investment, routinely competing for top projects. Iovine added that 'We have the freedom, because it's Apple, to make one show, three shows, see what works, see what doesn't work until it feels good.'

Apple Music could release as many as 10 original series by the end of the year, including will.i.am's Planet of the Apps and several documentaries. Iovine won't say what they are, but people familiar with the matter say two are about the legendary hip-hop labels Bad Boy Records and Cash Money Records while another is about music impresario Clive Davis. 'For a music streaming service," Iovine says, 'we're building a very decent slate.'"

Bloomberg notes later in their report that "Some ideas get Iovine into trouble. He's taken meetings with artists and made arrangements to release music without telling anyone in advance, frustrating colleagues. He's persuaded artists to release music exclusively with Apple, frustrating record labels. But no one doubts his knack for bringing people together.

He met Corden at a party at music manager Guy Oseary's house. Iovine expressed his admiration and asked the late-night comedian to stay in touch. Soon enough, Corden and producer Ben Winston were over at Iovine's house for breakfast. Iovine expressed interest in working together even though Apple wasn't making TV shows at the time. When Carpool Karaoke took off on YouTube—it's been watched more than a billion times—Winston and Corden contemplated a spinoff. So CBS Corp. called Apple, and Winston called Jimmy " – and the rest is history. For a lot more on this news, read the full Bloomberg report here.

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