Beats 1 renamed Apple Music 1, adds country &  retro-hits stations

Apple’s Beats 1 radio station has been renamed Apple Music 1, and has introduced two new stations for its listenership in 165 countries.

Apple Music Country will have shows from artists like Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Breland, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Evans, Florida Georgia Line, Pat Green, Willie Jones, Chrissy Metz, Midland, Rissi Palmer, The Shires, Carrie Underwood, and Morgan Wallen.

Apple Music Country comes at a time when the genre is registering streaming spikes in the US, Australia and the UK.

Apple Music Hits will feature favourite songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s.

Show hosts include Jayde Donovan, Estelle, Lowkey, Jenn Marino, Sabi, Nicole Sky & Natalie Sky, George Stroumboulopoulos (House of Strombo), with promised shows from Backstreet Boys, Ciara, Mark Hoppus, Huey Lewis, Alanis Morissette, Snoop Dogg, Meghan Trainor, and Shania Twain.

Apple Music 1

“For the past five years, if ever there was a meaningful moment in music culture, Beats 1 was there bringing human curation to the forefront and drawing in listeners with exclusive shows from some of the most innovative, respected, and beloved people in music,” said Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, Beats, and international content.

“Now, Apple Music radio provides an unparalleled global platform for artists across all genres to talk about, create, and share music with their fans, and this is just the beginning.

“We will continue to invest in live radio and create opportunities for listeners around the world to connect with the music they love.”

Adds it global creative director and host Zane Lowe, “Apple Music is home — it’s home to artists, it’s home to fans, and it’s home to incredible music.

“I’m an obsessive music nerd. I love searching for the most exciting new artists and playing them right alongside the most essential, established artists of our time, because great music does not know the difference and Apple Music fans just want to hear great music. That’s what Apple Music radio is all about.”

Apple claims Apple Music 1 has “grown into one of the most-listened-to radio stations in the world” but has never supplied figures.

In 2017 UK title Media Info investigated how many listeners Beats 1 had, and. came up with 19,700 tuning in at the same time, while Absolute Radio and Bauer stations could have between 7,000 and 15,000.

In terms of social media, Beats 1 had 495,000 followers on Twitter while BBC Radio 1 had 2.8 million. On Facebook Beats 1 had 11,000 likes to Radio 1’s 2.6 million while on Instagram it was 126,000 to 546,000.

The station was launched five years ago alongside the Apple Music streaming service, the latter now in 167 markets after launching in 52 new territories in April 2020.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.