Two Year Anniversary of Beats 1 Celebrated in New Interview With DJs

[MacRumors]

Two years ago Apple Music officially launched, alongside the debut of the service's 24/7 streaming radio channel Beats 1. In celebration of that anniversary, Beats 1 DJs Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and Julie Adenuga have given an interview to Highsnobiety to discuss their career high points working on Beats 1, the evolving landscape of digital radio, and more.

Zane Lowe has spoken about his origins with Beats 1 and Apple Music in the past, and in today's interview he again references "perfect" timing in his move to Apple and hosting Beats 1. Lowe mentioned excitement about sharing new music with listeners -- from a live demo of Vince Staples' new record to discussing the Baby Driver soundtrack with Edgar Wright -- and said that he hopes Beats 1 is the "ultimate clubhouse for artists."

Image via Highsnobiety​

When I found myself in a room with Drake and Oliver and Future for the first time, talking about what OVO SOUND Radio would feel like, that was only a few weeks after I arrived. That was a pretty mind blowing experience to have. The quality and vision of that show. I get that feeling every time I turn on Beats 1 and Mike D is doing a radio show or Lorde is taking over the station and playing in a personal and talking about us in a personal and engaged way. Every time something exciting happens on Beats 1 we get closer to our goal which is to be the ultimate clubhouse for artists to be able to express themselves and enjoy the process of sharing music and sharing information.

Concerning Beats 1 and its musical genres, Darden mentioned that just because he's known as "the hip-hop guy" doesn't mean his show won't take the chance at highlighting other genres.

People think I'm "the hip-hop guy", and I am that. But I'm also a music fan across the board. I'm amazed at how much great music is out there from all around the world. I get put on to new sounds from a myriad of genres and countries every day. There are tracks in other languages that I don't understand, but I feel the message regardless. Beats 1 has definitely expanded my worldview.

When asked about the most difficult moment he's been faced with working on Beats 1, Lowe said it was deciding the basic definition of the service, mentioning that he asked himself, "...is this even radio?" With the rise of streaming services, like Apple Music, Lowe mentioned that the Beats 1 team had a chance to do something different with their version of traditional radio and decided to create a foundation of trust for artists that "let them drive their own conversation."

We had three months to build Beats 1 from scratch... the first question we asked on Day One was... is this even radio? Radio had been driving pop music in the world for 50 years, and for all of those years, that was the only way to get a hit record. I'm not sure that's still the case. Radio listenership like that is declining and in some cases gone.

We had to face up to the reality that the old expectations may not fit the artist anymore. We have to trust the artists. Let them drive their own conversation. Trust that they know their audience. They know how to get the results. They know how this works. With that in mind, we built Beats 1, where artists can own their own real estate, drive their own message, satisfy their audience in their own voice, and hopefully, add value. Free has to lead somewhere. It has to collaborate. It has to build trust. And it's working.

A few months after Apple Music launched, Beats 1 began saving replays of recent shows so listeners could revisit a segment that they missed at any time. Now, the "On Demand" section of Beats 1 includes recent shows, playlists, and a topic description for each of the DJ's shows after they air live.

Ending the interview, Lowe mentioned that even two years into the life of Beats 1, he's "never been more excited about where Beats 1 is at this moment, and this is just the beginning." Check out the full interview with Lowe, Darden, and Adenuga on Highsnobiety here.

Article Link: Two Year Anniversary of Beats 1 Celebrated in New Interview With DJs

 

[dragje]

Been listening to Apple Music for about 2 years now, never once listened to Beats 1. Perhaps a good radio station for some, but it's not my cup of tea.

During this time Apple did changed Apple Music's interface for the better, but i.m.h.o there is still some work to do, like, a stand alone music app and the possibility perhaps to pay a little bit extra for a better kbps ratio to enable better quality music. Especially for those people that have faster connections at home.

 

[testcard]

Unfortunately my religion forbids me from visiting a website called Highsnobiety.

 

[LordQ]

I love Beats 1! Hope it stays on air for a long time

 

[tkermit]

Do people really listen to that station? I'd be surprised if Apple kept it going for much longer.

 

[dominiongamma]

Listened to it once then never again after that. Surprised Apple haven't got rid of it yet

 

[Brenster]

Huge Apple Music fan here but have only dipped into Beats 1 a handful of times, each time coming away with the impression that it serves hip-hop and other urban type music exclusively. Like classical, jazz, metal, rock or the more interesting side of electronica and you're pretty much stuffed. Lowe's delivery of 'breathless superlative strewn' anticipation of every single new track got old very quickly.

I'm assuming that there is an audience for Beats 1 out there but I'm nowhere near being part of it.

 

[litmag01]

Id like to see some metrics on this station especially the number of users that tune in; ie. paid Apple Music subscribers vs. non paying users.

 

[rtomyj]

They really need to bring different stations with less pop uh.. dj's. Yea the Jay-Z's and whatever have millions of followers but it doesn't make them good nor their followers justified. Rap, pop and anything on the radio is just pop with different names. Bring variety to online streaming or it's gonna go the way of regular radio.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Do people really listen to that station? I'd be surprised if Apple kept it going for much longer.

I still don't get Apple Music streaming services - they layout is confusing. I've not given it more than 3mins browsing at a time though.

 

[Markoth]

Been listening to Apple Music for about 2 years now, never once listened to Beats 1. Perhaps a good radio station for some, but it's not my cup of tea.

How could you possible know that if you've never listened to it?

To be perfectly honest though, I have listened to it. I tried to enjoy it, but there's just no variety. I don't think DJs are going to be a thing in the future. When we can use artificial intelligence to automatically generate playlists based on our preferences, who needs DJs to manually generate playlists we don't want to listen to?

 

[lunarworks]

Huge Apple Music fan here but have only dipped into Beats 1 a handful of times, each time coming away with the impression that it serves hip-hop and other urban type music exclusively. Like classical, jazz, metal, rock or the more interesting side of electronica and you're pretty much stuffed. Lowe's delivery of 'breathless superlative strewn' anticipation of every single new track got old very quickly.

I'm assuming that there is an audience for Beats 1 out there but I'm nowhere near being part of it.

Beats 1 operates on a schedule. You should check it out. If you like rock and metal, Joshua Homme, Lars Ulrich, and Corey Taylor all have shows, and those shows are on-demand in the archives. There's shows that feature a variety of electronica, but maybe not niche stuff you're looking for.

As for jazz and classical, that audience is pretty much 99% incompatible with the rest of their station.

 

[Brenster]

Beats 1 operates on a schedule. You should check it out. If you like rock and metal, Joshua Homme, Lars Ulrich, and Corey Taylor all have shows, and those shows are on-demand in the archives. There's shows that feature a variety of electronica, but maybe not niche stuff you're looking for.

As for jazz and classical, that audience is pretty much 99% incompatible with the rest of their station.

Appreciate the tip. Josh Homme strikes me as someone with an eclectic music taste, especially given the variety of people he's had guesting on QOTSA albums over the years. Will try and check out Ulrich & Taylor's shows. Not a fan of either of Taylor's bands (and have seen Slipknot live) but he's struck me as the thoughtful, consider type in interviews. Lars? Was a huge fan of Metallica through to and including the black album, lost me after that though and he didn't come of well in the Some Kind of Monster doc - does he come over well on the radio?

Shame for the jazz and classical side. Personally speaking the whole Mastered for iTunes program comes over best in classical - some amazing recordings beautifully presented on the iTune store/Apple Music that deserve wider exposure. Ditto jazz, although I suppose Gregory Porter might be within Beats 1's orbit.

 

[zooby]

.

 

[Mackinjosh]

Lol "Let's celebrate the two year anniversary by highlighting their biggest problem - talking".

 

[Mouse man]

Do people really listen to that station? I'd be surprised if Apple kept it going for much longer.

Ahhhh. Just love the entitled attitude "since I don't like it, no one should"

 

[Markoth]

Ahhhh. Just love the entitled attitude "since I don't like it, no one should"

Sounds to me like he doesn't know of anyone who listens to it, and because of this, he believes Apple may not keep it around much longer. Doesn't sound terribly entitled to me, but perhaps a bit anecdotal.

 

[kmj2318]

I really wonder how many people listen to the station.

I listened to it for a few months straight and really enjoyed it. But lately I don’t listen to any music at all. But if I was to check it out again, they’d need a better way to deliver the shows. A major problem was that subscribing to a show didn’t mean anything. It should act like podcasts where you can see your subscriptions and episodes.

 

[Wawajey]

I love me some Julie Adenuga and some time crisis

 

[Mackinjosh]

Ahhhh. Just love the entitled attitude "since I don't like it, no one should"

You should look up what the word "entitled" means. You're not using it correctly.

 

[8692574]

Ahhhh. Just love the entitled attitude "since I don't like it, no one should"

To be fair I don't think he ment it that way, but I have the same feeling he has, I never met anyone talking about it, (I admit I never even listened to it myself) or endorsing it.

It might be a gret product, but I am sure it will go the way of Ping sooner or later.....

 

[jadot]

It's not the content that's (possibly) killing Beats 1 - it's the delivery. I swear I can sort this out if Apple want Beats 1 to be more easily picked up and more regularly used.

Right now I have a whole load of obstacles to get through to listen to one show. Is it live? is it archived? Am I following the presenter? Where am I?

Just release a stand alone Beats 1 app already. Categorise shows, presenters, genres, live, and archive. Popular shows, interviews, timelines should be easy to navigate. iTunes isn't it.

 

[Captain Nougat]

Appreciate the tip. Josh Homme strikes me as someone with an eclectic music taste, especially given the variety of people he's had guesting on QOTSA albums over the years. Will try and check out Ulrich & Taylor's shows. Not a fan of either of Taylor's bands (and have seen Slipknot live) but he's struck me as the thoughtful, consider type in interviews. Lars? Was a huge fan of Metallica through to and including the black album, lost me after that though and he didn't come of well in the Some Kind of Monster doc - does he come over well on the radio?

Shame for the jazz and classical side. Personally speaking the whole Mastered for iTunes program comes over best in classical - some amazing recordings beautifully presented on the iTune store/Apple Music that deserve wider exposure. Ditto jazz, although I suppose Gregory Porter might be within Beats 1's orbit.

Lars show is my favorite current one if you like rock/metal/punk. Him and Steffan Chirazi (the Metallica writer) have good banter that gives context to each song (where it originated, why they're playing it). I like his enthusiasm for the music he plays for his hour block. Also does interviews at the end and throws in a deep cut. Sometimes he doesn't play rock either or have a theme for the episode. Give it a chance. Corey Taylor's show is pretty interesting too.

 

[skellener]

Russ Hanneman is a multi-billionaire who claims to have "put radio on the internet".

 

[nburwell]

I listened to Beats 1 when Apple Music first launched. I haven't listened to it since. I'm curious how well (or not well) it's doing. But I know Zane has a pretty big following from when he was on BBC.