Slogan Worldwide. Always on. | Owner Apple Inc. | |
City Los Angeles
New York City
London Broadcast area Over 100 countries on devices running iOS, tvOS, watchOS, Android, macOS, and Windows First air date June 30, 2015; 19 months ago (2015-06-30) Format Freeform radio, Rhythmic contemporary, Urban contemporary | ||
Beats 1 (often styled Beats1 or beats1) is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. The station airs a mix of pop, rap and indie music. Its DJs include Zane Lowe, who left BBC Radio 1 to join Beats 1, Ebro Darden, who hosts a hip hop music based radio show, and Julie Adenuga, whose show focuses on music from the United Kingdom.
Contents
History
Apple bought audio equipment maker Beats Electronics in 2014, which included the ownership of Beats' former music service Beats Music, and made Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers responsible for the iTunes Radio service. Business Insider later reported that Apple was planning to merge the two services together. Apple also hired Zane Lowe as a music curator.
The day of Beats 1's launch, The Guardian revealed that they had been given pre-recorded examples of Beats 1 programming, and said it "suggests an eclectic mix of programming to fill the 24-hours-a-day of broadcasting."
On September 29 of 2015, Zane Low said he wasn't sure that Apple Music needed Beats 1, but said "I hope that there’s a place for it."
In December 2015, rumors spread that Apple would expand on the Beats 1 brand and give it sister stations, after Apple registered trademarks for 4 additional Beat stations.
When Apple refreshed the Apple Music interface in 2016, Beats 1 reportedly became harder to get to.
Reception
Reception for the Apple-run station has been mixed. Quartz analyzed the track list of songs that were aired on Beats 1 in its second week. "Though Beats 1 is an eclectic mix of genres, some listeners have complained that it plays too much hip-hop." However, they did note that "there is a reasonable amount of diversity..."
Mashable complained of "dynamic-range compression, which squashes the volume range of audio" and also said "The variety can be a blessing and a curse...it jumps all over the musical spectrum...If I wasn't committed to listening to nothing but Beats 1 for this review, I would have turned it off."
9to5Mac had a generally positive review of the station, saying "Although Beats 1 is advertised as a 24/7 station, it isn’t really true. The schedule is set up on a 12 hour basis, so for the other 12 hours it plays a recording of the last 12 hours...This is frustrating for me, being based in the UK. If I listen in the afternoon and in the following morning, I am likely to hear the same shows repeated...In summary, Beats 1 as a concept is great... It needs some work on the software side and the production side to make it really shine."
Fortune said "I haven’t liked every song played on Beats 1, but the personal bond I instantly felt with each DJ has been strong enough for me to resist the urge to go back to a lifeless algorithm."
Billboard writer said "the tech community has been heaping praise on Beats 1...Internet-savvy people have fallen head over heels for old-school monoculture."
Rob Price of Business Insider said "So far, I've loved it. I was never much of a radio listener before, and I've enjoyed the eclectic selection it has thrown up."
Kirk McElhearn wrote "Beats 1 radio is clearly a loss-leader. Apple has designed it to draw people into Apple Music and get them interested. But the station is designed for just one demographic: the young, pop/rock/hip-hop listener. As such, it’s a non starter for a lot of Apple Music customers, and that’s a shame."
Format
Beats 1 broadcast a mix of music focusing on new music and artists. Unlike the playlists for the "stations" on ITunes Radio. The Next Web claims that "The overarching aim of Beats 1 is to curate cool new music, whether it be new talent or fresh music from established artists."
Beats 1 airs Apple's annual Apple Music Festival (which was formerly known as the iTunes Festival).
Ebro Darden hosts a 2-hour show on Beats 1 in which he plays a mix of both hit and obscure songs and interviews artists in-studio. His show is broadcast from New York.
Beats 1 has included interviews with Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Chance the Rapper.