On this day in 2015, Apple Music introduced free 24-hour radio.
Photo: Apple
June 30, 2015: Apple launches 24/7 radio station, Beats 1. Part of Apple Music, Beats 1 features top DJs, from former BBC presenter Zane Lowe to top musicians like Lil Wayne.
Apple calls Beats 1 “the biggest radio station in the world,” surpassing all other music stations in terms of concurrent listeners (no pun intended), but some have called Cupertino out on this claim, as there are no hard numbers to back it up.
Beats 1 launch brings live music to Apple fans 24/7
As its name suggests, Beats 1’s origins date back to Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014. The acquisition gave Apple the music-themed brand and technology to begin laying the foundations for Apple Music. But Zane Lowe, one of Beats 1’s first DJs, said Beats 1’s development timeline was incredibly short. In a long-running interview, he said the team had just three months to “build Beats 1 from the ground up.”
Unlike Apple Music, Beats 1 did not require a subscription to listen to it. In theory, this opened it up to a huge audience, even if Apple did not reveal the exact number of listeners. In 2020, Cupertino renamed the station to Apple Music 1 and launched two radio stations, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country. These three stations are available for free to those who do not subscribe to Apple Music.
Free Live Radio on Apple Music
Lowe initially said he wasn’t sure how integral Beats 1 would be to the overall Apple Music experience, but he expected there would be a place for it. Since Beats 1’s release, Apple’s main radio station has continued to land big-name interviews and celebrity hosts, especially in the hip-hop world. (Lowe still hosts “The Zane Lowe Show.”)
Oddly, Apple has put little effort into promoting its own radio stations, and its focus on radio stations as a key differentiator for Apple Music seems to have followed the same path as the streaming service’s controversial initial focus on exclusives.
Do you listen to Apple radio stations? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
