“In its bid to become a power in music streaming, Apple is devoting its vast resources to create what it hopes will be a first truly global radio station,” AFP reports. “The $750 billion company, whose iTunes revolutionized how disparate parts of the world buy music, on Tuesday launches Apple Music as it sees consumer trends shift to streaming, which allows on-demand unlimited content online.”
“At the heart of the strategy is Beats 1, which bills itself as a first global radio station and will be available in more than 100 countries,” AFP reports. “Beats 1 will be free even without a subscription to Apple Music, whose streaming platform costs $9.99 a month after a trial period.”
“Apple Music has sought to make a splash through big names on Beats 1, poaching the influential New Zealand-born DJ Zane Lowe from BBC Radio 1,” AFP reports. “The company has not named a full list of presenters, but Lowe in a profile by The New York Times said that pop icon Elton John, “Happy” singer and producer Pharrell Williams, rap mogul Dr. Dre and prominent indie rocker St. Vincent had all been enlisted to host shows.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Earlier this month, we ran a poll that asked our readers which of Apple’s myriad music offerings most interested them.
Beats 1 wasn’t high on the excitement meter, barely beating out the marketing-heavy Connect offering.
For now, with MacDailyNews readers at least, it’s very much a case of “Zane. Zune. Whatever.” We’ll see if this changes with time.
SEE ALSO:
Why Zane Lowe left BBC’s Radio 1 for Apple’s Beats 1 – June 25, 2015
