BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe Joining Apple's iTunes Radio Effort

[MacRumors]

Noted DJ Zane Lowe, who has headed up BBC Radio 1's popular evening new music show for over a decade, is leaving the broadcaster next month to join Apple, reports BBC News. Lowe has won a number of awards for his radio show and other work over the years, and was nominated for a Grammy Award this year for his role in writing and producing Sam Smith's album "In The Lonely Hour."

Zane said: "I want to thank everyone at Radio 1 for their support and friendship. "The station has allowed me to share incredible music with the country's best music fans."

During his time on the station, the New Zealand-born DJ has become well known for championing emerging talent and many acts have made their breakthrough after having one of their tracks named as "hottest record in the world" on Zane's show.

While Lowe has apparently not publicly stated what role he will take on at Apple, The Guardian says it will involve the company's iTunes Radio streaming music service.

Lowe's role will likely include more than iTunes Radio at some point, however, with Apple currently working toward a revamp of the Beats Music subscription streaming service it acquired last year. Part of the plan reportedly involves folding Beats into the iTunes brand and integrating it with OS X and iOS.

As a result, there may be some changes in store for iTunes Radio, which has reportedly seen a lukewarm reception and has only expanded to Australia since its U.S. launch in late 2013, despite rumors of a number of other countries receiving access by early 2014.

Article Link: BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe Joining Apple's iTunes Radio Effort

 

[Littleman]

Big news. He will be sorely missed.
New iTunes radio channel imminent.

 

[jroadley]

Here's to hoping iTunes radio comes to these UK shores...

 

[Tech198]

the term "Radio" on a TV is enough to make me flip.... which is why i never use iTunes Radio..

I'll still continue to never understand the audio only relationship Apple has on a big screen, when u'r starring at a static picture..... in some cases.

Each has their own place, that's what hi-fi systems are for. But we all only care about the technology it brings....

Each to their own i guess *shrugs*

 

[ButteryScrollin]

They must have interesting plans for music streaming to lure him to Apple.

 

[JamonBull]

Very, very big news. This is going to have a big impact on where Apple goes with iTunes Radio and the Beats streaming service in the future. 2015 is shaping up to be a very interesting year!

 

[kds1]

the term "Radio" on a TV is enough to make me flip.... which is why i never use iTunes Radio..

I'll still continue to never understand the audio only relationship Apple has on a big screen, when u'r starring at a static picture..... in some cases.

Each has their own place, that's what hi-fi systems are for. But we all only care about the technology it brings....

Each to their own i guess *shrugs*

I like using iTunes Radio on my AppleTV, as well as my library of puchased music. I'll even AirPlay Spotify to my AppleTV. Why? It's super comvenient, and I get to see the Album artwork on the screen, the time left in the track, and in the case of iTunes Radio, what I listened to previously. Spotify also is convenient to control on My AppleTV from my iPad mini. Same for Pandora. Not sure where you have been but things have converged, and it's great.

 

[ThisIsNotMe]

Another dead end Apple is going down. Music (as a profit center) is dead while the future is in visual media (movies). Music had its place before everyone had screen in their pocket.

 

[Col4bin]

Apple's about to relaunch a new and improved Beats Music platform/experience that will give Spotify and Pandora a run for their money. Book it.

 

[SeaFox]

Hope he's taking a desk job. If there's one thing I don't want to hear while listening to music it's radio "personalities" trying to be funny or extreme or whatever they call their banter. Right up there where with ads on the list of reasons why I don't care about getting the antenna fixed on my car.

 

[Keirasplace]

Another dead end Apple is going down. Music (as a profit center) is dead while the future is in visual media (movies). Music had its place before everyone had screen in their pocket.

The profit center for Apple is THE PLATFORM (ecosystem) / Experience, which drives hardware sales. That's been the case for a while, time you wake up.

Adding to the ecosystem accross the board enables those healthy 40% margins and makes them more money than any one service could.

 

[legacyb4]

Interesting; I listen to music far more than I watch video on my 6...

Another dead end Apple is going down. Music (as a profit center) is dead while the future is in visual media (movies). Music had its place before everyone had screen in their pocket.

 

[sshambles]

Finally!
A guy I can relate to.









He shares my first name.

 

[Astro321]

I, like many people I know, has zero desire to use my phone for watching movies. I enjoy listening to music far more than attempting to watch a movie of a tiny screen. I also refuse to watch movies on the 10inch flat screen attached to the underaideof the cabinet in my kitchen. I know you see some "trend" of people not listening to music, but people are listening to music, far more so than movie viewing of phones

Another dead end Apple is going down. Music (as a profit center) is dead while the future is in visual media (movies). Music had its place before everyone had screen in their pocket.

 

[viorelgn]

It really is kinda creepy. Apple is very powerful and you don't have to have the imagination of a cheesy sci-fi writer to imagine a future nightmare world scenario with Apple under a very different kind of leadership.

 

[macpeach55]

Another dead end Apple is going down. Music (as a profit center) is dead while the future is in visual media (movies). Music had its place before everyone had screen in their pocket.

Seems you like to post nearly this same comment every time there is an article about iTunes Radio or the like. So you have made your statement, Again. Now please go away & watch your videos on your mobile phone & we'll listen to our music while able to do other things at the same time **Hint**

 

[Zaqfalcon]

Well iTunes radio has been a bit rubbish so far, whatever algorithms are being used make for some weird results.

 

[Candlelight]

He's a kiwi so naturally he's in demand.

 

[wxman2003]

Apple should seriously consider purchasing Sirius XM and merging the whole system into iTunes radio or whatever they would choose to call it. 25 million subscribers, and with just about every new car being equipped with satellite radio, Apple could rapidly expand in that market. Virtually every new car would be integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Whether you choose to use satellite radio, cellular streaming or iTunes on your device, they would all work seamlessly together.

 

[dubhe]

Hope he's taking a desk job. If there's one thing I don't want to hear while listening to music it's radio "personalities" trying to be funny or extreme or whatever they call their banter. Right up there where with ads on the list of reasons why I don't care about getting the antenna fixed on my car.

You have obviously never listened to his show. Breakfast DJ he isn't, he only talks about the music which he knows intimately, hence, I guess, apple's offer. It would have taken a lot more than money to lure him over too, he will want to be part of something special in the music industry.

 

[TomaxXamot]

You have obviously never listened to his show. Breakfast DJ he isn't, he only talks about the music which he knows intimately, hence, I guess, apple's offer. It would have taken a lot more than money to lure him over too, he will want to be part of something special in the music industry.

Thanks for your post, that's almost exactly what I was going to say. That guy has no idea what/who he's talking about. Zane is a great choice. Next up add Fabio & Grooverider!

 

[slippyr4]

Hope he's taking a desk job. If there's one thing I don't want to hear while listening to music it's radio "personalities" trying to be funny or extreme or whatever they call their banter. Right up there where with ads on the list of reasons why I don't care about getting the antenna fixed on my car.

There are no ads on radio 1.

 

[vmistery]

There are no ads on radio 1.

No ads but loads of pointless talking about rubbish in a really annoying way. These days I prefer radio 2s waffle to radio 1, less teenagery.

 

[ozaz]

Lowe's role will likely include more than iTunes Radio at some point, however, with Apple currently working toward a revamp of the Beats Music subscription streaming service it acquired last year. Part of the plan reportedly involves folding Beats into the iTunes brand and integrating it with OS X and iOS.

he will want to be part of something special in the music industry

Obviously, we don't yet know how everything's going to play out, but in my opinion, making a consolidated beats / iTunes radio service into an OSX/iOS-only service would preclude being part of something special. It will need to be cross platform to have a genuine impact (that goes beyond driving sales of Apple hardware). Music shouldn't be exclusive.

 

[Zxxv]

the term "Radio" on a TV is enough to make me flip.... which is why i never use iTunes Radio..

I'll still continue to never understand the audio only relationship Apple has on a big screen, when u'r starring at a static picture..... in some cases.

Each has their own place, that's what hi-fi systems are for. But we all only care about the technology it brings....

Each to their own i guess *shrugs*

you don't have to have the screen/tv on you know and a lot of people have their apple tv hooked up through their home cinemas and hifi systems so iTunes radio on tv off