Yesterday, the man in charge of Apple’s internet services and software division, Eddy Cue, made an appearance in Mumbai, India to introduce two ‘Mac Labs’ for an institution called KM Music Conservatories, the brainchild of musician A.R. Rahman.
The labs, located in KMMC’s Mumbai and Chennai campuses, will give classes on how to produce music using Apple’s digital audio program Logic Pro X.
At the Mumbai event Cue and Rahman appeared together, both making announcements about Apple’s plans to finance ten full-time bursaries for students who come from underprivileged families. In his statement, Rahman says he has been a ‘loyal’ Logic Pro user for more than two decades.
What is interesting is that Apple decided to attach these initiatives to Apple Music, even though this on-demand music service is not linked to the division responsible for the development of Logic.
For some time the firm has been trying to increase its presence in the potentially huge Indian market. Initiatives include launching an App Accelerator, producing iPhones locally and discussing the possibility of opening retail Apple Stores. So far local legislation has prevented it from opening first-party retail stores in India. But, there is a possibility that Apple might be granted exemptions in this regard, and also in areas such as taxes.
Apple hasn’t given Logic Pro X much publicity over the last few years. The last major announcement was at the start of 2017, when the software was updated with Touch Bar support for the popular MacBook Pro, and a number of other features including tighter integration with GarageBand for iOS and ‘Track Alternatives’.
In other Apple news the company’s CEO, Tim Cook, yesterday visited Oxford University for the launch of a brand new ‘innovation space’ called The Oxford Foundry which will be open to all University of Oxford students. He cut the ribbon and subsequently sat down with students for a Q&A session.