“‘Into the unknown we go,’ the D. J. Zane Lowe said just after noon on Tuesday, as he began his first show on Beats 1, the Internet radio station that is a big feature of Apple’s new music service,” Ben Sisario reports for The New York Times. “”
“As Apple Music opened on Tuesday — most listeners found it as part of an update of Apple’s mobile operating system — much of the attention turned to Beats 1, a live radio feed that in some ways functions as marketing for the entire service,” Sisario reports. “Led by Mr. Lowe, who was born in New Zealand and became a top announcer on the BBC station Radio 1, Beats 1 is in some ways an old-fashioned radio station, with D. J.s, promotional recordings — ‘carts,’ as they are in industry parlance, after the tape cartridges they used to fit on — and teases about new songs.”
“After warming up with atmospheric tracks by Brian Eno, Mr. Lowe opened his first show with the song ‘City’ by Spring King, a little-known alternative band from Manchester, England. Then came Beck, the English producer Jamie XX, the English rapper Skepta and AC/DC, a playlist that in some ways telegraphed Mr. Lowe’s musical approach,” Sisario reports. “He is dedicated to brand-new rock and hip-hop music and isn’t afraid to take chances on the kinds of obscure records that most commercial American radio stations would normally consider too risky to play.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The surprisingly compelling Beats 1 is a throwback that’s likely something completely new to many of the service’s younger listeners. Independent, unrestrained, human DJs spinning tunes and interviewing artists. What’s old is new again!
SEE ALSO:
AccuRadio CEO: Apple Music’s Beats 1 won’t garner a huge audience – June 30, 2015
Apple’s Beats 1 starts broadcasting – June 30, 2015
What’s known is that the music selection is nearly guaranteed to suck donkey sack. Who the H wants some ‘world dj’ to procure your jams? Repellent..
Beats 1 is the vehicle that will drive people to a paid subscription of Apple Music.
I have found Beats 1 to be the most compelling aspect of Apple Music. It is great to have “old fashioned” radio without all of the commercials.
Playlists are great and so are the curtailed radio stations in Apple Music but there is something about a DJ spinning records and inputting commentary where and when necessary.
I am loving Beats 1 and have already discovered some great music and artists I had never beard before Beats 1.
*Listened to before Beats 1
Awesome is awesome… Old and new should like what Beats 1 has to offer. Check the program schedule to find the content you will appreciate the most. So far, I like everything. Especially how clear it sounds and the wide audio spectrum I pickup on my headphones.
There are commercials. I distinctly heard it say “made possible by McDonalds” earlier. Lame.
Proof once again that corporations (i.e. Clear Channel0 are not people.
I’m really beginning to like this a lot. Too bad it’s not also available through TV.
Yet
It will be interesting to see if the more eclectic musical selections played on Beats 1 inspire other radio stations to widen their musical horizons.
If the listeners choose to hear a wider range of music, then the indie labels will benefit enormously and the big labels will lose some of their power. I can smell the scent of disruption in the air, or maybe over the airwaves.