Photo Credit: Genius
Fuse Media is teaming up with Genius to bring its lyrics-focused content to TV in March.
The series Genius x Fuse will bring artist-focused content like Verified and Deconstructed to TV viewers. In the first episode, Alicia Keys breaks down the meaning of her hit, “Underdog” on Verified. 2 Chainz discusses his new label, T.R.U. with Rob Markman on For the Record. And producer Hit-Boy describes how Kendrick Lamar’s “Backseat Freestyle” was created on Deconstructed.
Joshua Asen, Genius’s head of TV & film, says artist-focused content is the future.
“Genius champions artists who are shaping today’s music culture,” he said. “Our digital content spotlights their craft and creativity and resonates intensely with our online audience.”
The partnership with Fuse will bring Genius’ deep focus on lyrics and deep-dives behind them to TV viewers. Fuse is working hard to expand its partnerships in the digital media realm. YouTube’s Made from Scratch series ended up on TV in a partnership with Fuse.
The move to secure its brand as offering more than just “official” lyrics may help Genius’ case against Google. Back in December, the lyrics site sued Google for lifting lyrics. The copy and paste job was revealed after Genius lyricists hid clever clues in their lyrics to bust Google “red-handed.”
Earlier this month, Genius announced that Apple Music subscribers would get Verified first. Apple Music is now co-producing Verified episodes that appear on the service. Genius’ Verified videos posted to YouTube are also co-branded with Apple Music 24 hours later.
Genius first debuted Verified in 2016 and has created more than 850 episodes with artists. Ice Cube, Chance the Rapper, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and Cardi B. are just a few of the artists participating. Musicians sit down in front of the show’s sign to discuss the creativity, vision, and inspiration of their most popular songs.