The Weeknd, Drake and Disclosure Among Most Played Artists on Beats 1

[From A Buick 8]

It speaks volumes that classical music is not on the list. It says we are being programmed.

Beats 1 is a live station that mostly play current music that is popular, Apple Music has ton's of classical music. Beats 1 is being programmed but you can chose to not listen to Beats 1 and instead listen to whatever you want.

Again Beats 1 does not = AM

 

[Dranix]

Music that is popular where? Not the world - that is clear...

 

[Mactendo]

Beats 1 is a live station that mostly play current music that is popular, Apple Music has ton's of classical music. Beats 1 is being programmed but you can chose to not listen to Beats 1 and instead listen to whatever you want.

Again Beats 1 does not = AM

What Beats 1 plays is not popular music, it's something being pushed down people throats. Rap is not even the most popular genre in the US, rock always takes first place, even country music sells more than rap, there're numbers online. And other countries care even less about that US rap thing. Quick google search result:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/188910/us-music-album-sales-by-genre-2010/

Good for you.

The 80s was the only time that rap was worth listening to. It quickly degenerated into its current filthy state.

French rap always was better and more interesting to me. Sometimes it has some nice melody, and it's not being just a dumb aggression without any hint of music.

So much for Tim Cook celebrating diversity.

He celebrates it when it suits him, but not when it comes to music.

Apple: You can have any genre you like, so long as it's rap.

Who knows, maybe half of those most played hip-hoppers are diversified enough in some ways, so Beats 1 is pretty diversified radio in Tim's eyes.

 

[6836838]

Great to see the British band Years and Year featuring so high. Love the synth sounds those guys spin out. Check them out!

 

[rd1981]

i can't wait for the other beats stations to arrive. We all have different tastes in music, it's time for genre specific stations, if that's Apple's goal here.

 

[irfan22]

I am really confused by people on here. Beats 1 is refreshing. I stopped listening to the radio 10 year ago bc of the repeated songs and annoying commercials. Now granted, when I launch apple music, i probably listen to beats 1 15-20 percent of the time. I am not a lean back listener. I prefer to be my own DJ.

Let's clear up some misconceptions about what is being played. If you read the full article, hip-hop is played only 28% of the time. Alternative is at 25%.

What i love about it is that they are playing more indie music that could easily be mainstream. I think that was the point. There are a ton of songs and artist could easily be loved by mainstream audiences if the radio would give them a chance. Jamie xx is a perfect example. Also, the weeknd has blown up everywhere but he is has been around for 4 years. Glad he is getting more attention.

That being said, the station cant please everyone. They cant be playing jazz, classical, or experimental. Also, for those saying they dont know all the top artist on the list..isnt that the point. To discover new music and new artist?

 

[Dranix]

Sure but not from the hip hop and alternate genre. If it would be me to decide both genre would be wiped out and the world a better place because of it...

 

[marty1980]

Drake or Meek? F* 'em both.

There isn't a single artist on that list that I would volunteer my time or money to. I don't listen to mainstream radio any more because it's the same crap.

I'm not just an old foggie who is out of touch. Listening to this shallow, focus-group tested music that's created to appease the majority of listeners is painful. And it's sad that so many sheep enjoy these popular artists.

I've got a unique taste in music, so eat that grain of salt. I also wouldn't totally bash every artist on that list and I don't bash people themselves for enjoying such music. But sometimes I just can't help but shake my head in disbelief at the excitement some of this crap conjures from a crowd. It's sad and the industry needs artists to shake up this stale industry. There are plenty of independent artists doing it, but none of the mainstream pick them up because publishers don't see the potential available to them.

I highly doubt I'll ever sit and just listen to Beats radio because it doesn't and probably will never appeal to me. Again, I may be in a small boat on this one, but that's my opinion and the internet enables me to express it...

 

[Enzobot24]

Wow... lots vaguely racist shut-ins saying rap isn't music. I mean, I don't like reggae and pop country much, but I'd never ban a genre from existence. Haven't any of you heard Hans Zimmer's great quote, "There are only two types of music: good and bad?"

I'm not a Drake fan, but damn, hip-hop is just like any other genre--80% is terrible. The other 20% is up to personal taste. And it's up to us to get over any silly bias.

Kendrick Lamar made a legitimately compelling album that had something to say about being black in America. What the hell? Should music not be varied?

 

[CEmajr]

What Beats 1 plays is not popular music, it's something being pushed down people throats. Rap is not even the most popular genre in the US, rock always takes first place, even country music sells more than rap, there're numbers online. And other countries care even less about that US rap thing. Quick google search result:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/188910/us-music-album-sales-by-genre-2010/

Probably not as a whole, but it's clearly the genre of choice for younger people and obviously Apple would prefer to please the 18-35 crowd over all else.

Also your link is only album sales, not revenue generated from digital sales, single sales, radio spins, music played in clubs, etc. Most young people don't buy entire albums these days so that link is largely irrelevant to what's actually popular.

Another thing is that even a lot of what's considered 'pop' and 'R&B' these days is infused with hip-hop style production or other influences. For example, there's a popular Taylor Swift song that Apple Music loves to play which features rapper Kendrick Lamar, but it is classified as a 'Pop' song. I can't recall the name of it.

Spotify was ok, but since I have been so happy with all my apple gear, I thought I would ditch spotify and only use apple music. AM feels like a unfinished product and WAY too biased when it comes to music genres. Disappointed!

Beats 1 doesn't equate to Apple Music. It's pretty easy to create other radio stations based off the music you actually like. The 'For You' section also does a pretty amazing job at suggesting music that you might like. You should try it.

 

[cube]

deleted

 

[HopefulHumanist]

Man, there are a lot of old fogeys on this forum. Hip hop is hugely popular all over the world and it's always good for parties so it's natural it will be among the top played genres. Especially with the market that does most of the listening; the [18-35ish] demographic. I mean, they're usually the ones racking up plays on Spotify, tidal, YouTube, etc. Apple Music's model is per-play so it just makes good business sense.

That being said, they do exhibit a good variety. I was listening to Julie's show earlier and it was straight chill bass, U.K. Pop & drum and based music. She even played some rock. Zane's show is even more diverse.

I don't think a lot of you are giving it a fair chance. Anything that's likely to upset you is censored so maybe wait around long enough to what's played after after a hip hop song?

 

[Dranix]

Wow... lots vaguely racist shut-ins saying rap isn't music.

Why always this "racist" attacks when people criticise hip hop? Black people have nothing to do with hip hop being terrible music.

 

[bpeeps]

On the entire list the only two "artist" I have ever heard of are Beck and Selena Gomez. Out of those two the only song I know is "Where it's at".

This is really cool and interesting!!!

 

[rd1981]

I think genre specific stations, like a beats2,3,4 etc are needed so that there can be room for a greater mixture of mainstream and underground music. Beats1 is already good for breaking new singles, and playing some non-mainstream artists (or just artists I've never heard before). I think apple has the chance to put listeners onto even more music.

In R&B for example, over the past year there has been alot of decent album releases. Mostly old school artists making comeback albums. I've bought like around 8 R&B albums that I personally enjoy, but wonder why the radio never plays any of these songs. Meanwhile many believe R&B is dead because they don't hear "real R&B" on the radio anymore. But this is either because of poor promotion, or radio DJs being afraid to play certain artists. I'm hoping Apple considers this when and if they add more stations, i think it might even improve album sales.

 

[Enzobot24]

Why always this "racist" attacks when people criticise hip hop? Black people have nothing to do with hip hop being terrible music.

Blanket statements show a lack of research.

Would you evaluate the entirety of rock on Limp Bizkit and Korn? No.

Would you rate the entirety of Italian cuisine on food from the Olive Garden? No.

 

[newyorksole]

Maybe a part of Beats takeover was that Apple have to "keep it real" and be "down with tha kidz"?

I have a displeasure of knowing most of the "artists" on this list, and by the looks of it, I haven't lost anything by ignoring Beats 1. If I want to listen to Currents or "Lean On", I've got them here at hand. The rest, Apple should pay me 9.90 a month to listen to, and I'd argue that's not enough.

Lmao why do people constantly feel like their music is superior. People like what they like. Just because some of you oldheads aren't into any current urban artists doesn't mean they aren't good.

People's elitist attitudes with music can be sooo annoying.

 

[kmj2318]

What next, you'd listen to a 25 minute song comprised of 3 notes?

Like the album in your avatar right?

 

[eastcoastsurfer]

I am really confused by people on here. Beats 1 is refreshing. I stopped listening to the radio 10 year ago bc of the repeated songs and annoying commercials. Now granted, when I launch apple music, i probably listen to beats 1 15-20 percent of the time. I am not a lean back listener. I prefer to be my own DJ.

Let's clear up some misconceptions about what is being played. If you read the full article, hip-hop is played only 28% of the time. Alternative is at 25%.

What i love about it is that they are playing more indie music that could easily be mainstream. I think that was the point. There are a ton of songs and artist could easily be loved by mainstream audiences if the radio would give them a chance. Jamie xx is a perfect example. Also, the weeknd has blown up everywhere but he is has been around for 4 years. Glad he is getting more attention.

That being said, the station cant please everyone. They cant be playing jazz, classical, or experimental. Also, for those saying they dont know all the top artist on the list..isnt that the point. To discover new music and new artist?

I completely agree. What it looks like to me based on the comments in this thread is that Apple has done a poor job explaining that Apple Music is like a Spotify/Google Music/etc... and Beats 1 is well staffed internet radio station.

 

[kmj2318]

Maybe a part of Beats takeover was that Apple have to "keep it real" and be "down with tha kidz"?

I have a displeasure of knowing most of the "artists" on this list, and by the looks of it, I haven't lost anything by ignoring Beats 1. If I want to listen to Currents or "Lean On", I've got them here at hand. The rest, Apple should pay me 9.90 a month to listen to, and I'd argue that's not enough.

I've been liking Currents even though it has some rough spots (i.e. Past Life). It's one of the funniest albums I've heard in a while.

 

[lk400]

Music is such a personal thing for so many people, and people have such varied tastes. The great thing is that we live in a time where we have instant access to basically all of the worlds music. I don't like to read a lot of the negativity on these forums on posts such as these.

I think there are generally music people and non-music people in the world. For music people, it is a passion. They have specific and often eclectic or obscure tastes in music. They feel strongly for and against what they like and done like. Often they feel the need to share their preferences, tell the world the songs or artists they like. A lot of the time, a big part of this is showing that they don't like what they are told to like by radio/pop culture, or that they found an artist before they hit the big time.

I believe that non-music people still love music (i think i have only met one person in my life who said "i don't like music"), they just get different things out of it. I think that any kind of music radio is aimed more at non-music people, who just want to be somehow entertained or get some feeling from the sounds without thinking much more about it.

Music is also very reflective of the times. As we get older, music, like clothing fashions and other elements of the culture, change. It changes rapidly. As we have no control over such change, some people feel the need to just reject it entirely. Dismiss the new things as being not important compared to what they knew and loved in the past. Feign ignorance of things which, statistically, they should know about. Deconstruct things such as specific genres of music that they don't happen to like from a position of superiority, as if they are a scientist observing an animal in a cage.

The fact that popular culture, or large masses of people, like a specific music which you don't happen to like doesn't take away from the awesomeness of what you are listening to. And lets be honest, if everyone did like your awesome obscure music, you would likely be disappointed!

 

[Benjamin Frost]

Music is such a personal thing for so many people, and people have such varied tastes. The great thing is that we live in a time where we have instant access to basically all of the worlds music. I don't like to read a lot of the negativity on these forums on posts such as these.

I think there are generally music people and non-music people in the world. For music people, it is a passion. They have specific and often eclectic or obscure tastes in music. They feel strongly for and against what they like and done like. Often they feel the need to share their preferences, tell the world the songs or artists they like. A lot of the time, a big part of this is showing that they don't like what they are told to like by radio/pop culture, or that they found an artist before they hit the big time.

I believe that non-music people still love music (i think i have only met one person in my life who said "i don't like music"), they just get different things out of it. I think that any kind of music radio is aimed more at non-music people, who just want to be somehow entertained or get some feeling from the sounds without thinking much more about it.

Music is also very reflective of the times. As we get older, music, like clothing fashions and other elements of the culture, change. It changes rapidly. As we have no control over such change, some people feel the need to just reject it entirely. Dismiss the new things as being not important compared to what they knew and loved in the past. Feign ignorance of things which, statistically, they should know about. Deconstruct things such as specific genres of music that they don't happen to like from a position of superiority, as if they are a scientist observing an animal in a cage.

The fact that popular culture, or large masses of people, like a specific music which you don't happen to like doesn't take away from the awesomeness of what you are listening to. And lets be honest, if everyone did like your awesome obscure music, you would likely be disappointed!

Nope.

There's good and bad music. Most popular music today is bad, because it appeals to man's basic instinct which is violence. It's fitting that the music industry has gone to the dogs, as it reflects the kind of people we are. Rap is the ultimate consummation of violence. It is anti-music.

We get what we deserve.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

It does seem to have a U.S. (or maybe English-language-countries?) bias, though. I'm from Germany: Many of the American Hip-Hop acts aren't all that well-known over here, and R&B and Soul aren't nearly as successful as they are in the states.

I've also never heard of any of the artists listed in this analysis, but I'm not sure whether that's due to regional taste differences or whether I'm just an old fart who doesn't keep up with popular music anymore.

(EDIT: Typos)

What! In Germany you haven't heard of Florence and the Machine? She is amazing, incredible voice and songwriting. Highly original. Beck is the only other artist on that list whom I really like. But, I guess if she hasn't appeared in your "For Me" then you probably don't favor her 'type' of music (I have no idea into which genre she is classified). I think of her as Alternative/Indie (but now widely popular in certain areas).

On one hand I'm surprised, but then unsurprised. I guess Beats 1 will just play whats popular and Apple's been pushing rap in Hip Hop in almost every aspect of Apple Music's advertising that I've seen.

Still, I kind of thought their live station would be more evenly distributed. Meh, I never signed up, but the "For You" section looks like it will be much better for most people.

The "For Me" section is great - it's what I use for the most part - I've discovered some music which I hadn't really heard (and I like it!). I also don't find Beats1 appealing overall. Not a fan of Hip Hop (after the 90's) and very little R&B, and the pop artists are not my taste, either.

Scary, isn't it. On that list I know only the names of Drake, Selena Gomez and Florence and The Machine, and of those three, the only one whose music I've actually heard is Florence + The Machine. I might have heard Drake but not realized it.

Among the kids I know, they don't seem to actually enjoy hip-hop and rap but they will brag about listening to it because they think it makes them cool. I've heard a handful of rap singles I liked because there was a solid story in them. But everything else I've heard in passing is . And some of it is so misogynistic that I fear my mother's generation burned their bras in vain. So much nylon and cotton and polyester died for nothing.

However, the genres of music I'm interested in are just as easily made fun of and dismissed. Thank you, Blake Shelton, for the immortal refrain "chew tobacco, chew tobacco, spit!" I'm sure he pulled that one from the depths of his soul.

By the way, GrumpyMom -- You know that an Electra Woman and Dyna Girl movie is in the making for the big screen, right? It was a really fun series back in my childhood!

What Beats 1 plays is not popular music, it's something being pushed down people throats. Rap is not even the most popular genre in the US, rock always takes first place, even country music sells more than rap, there're numbers online. And other countries care even less about that US rap thing. Quick google search result:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/188910/us-music-album-sales-by-genre-2010/

I would like to see more recent stats (since you're posting them as 'evidence' of U.S. tastes) - that's five years ago!

 

[firewood]

I think that branch of music has more in common with bizarre performance "art" than with normal music.

The "music" industry has been popularizing performance artists for many decades. However, way back, some of those performers could actually sing or play their instruments without needing a team of sound engineers and editors to fix things.

 

[rctlr]

I said this weeks ago, they need a rock/metal show.
The three resident DJs, ehem, sorry Curators, are dyed in the wool hip hop fans.
This certainly is not indicative of people who love all forms of music.