Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) impressed the music industry with the launch of its Apple Music service yesterday. The launch was a huge success and was positively welcomed by the music community and users but what was more interesting was Apple’s Beats 1 radio.
The online radio station is a 24-hour streaming service that plays constant music. It is notably interesting because of the hype dance music that it has been playing since it was launched. Most subscribers might find it rather catchy, and that is part of Apple’s strategy towards popularizing Apple Music and its services.
Behind the radio is a group of live DJs that Apple has employed to keep the music flowing. The DJs announce the names of the songs play and make a few comments on other subjects such as the weather to maintain the liveliness of the internet radio station. They basically operate just like the DJs on normal frequency radio stations.
While Apple Music offers monthly subscriptions that cost $9.99, Beats 1 will be free to everyone on the new iTunes and iOS8 updates released during the launch of the music service. Beats 1 will be a welcome addition to the online radio scene that is dominated by Pandora. The latter has more than 80 million subscribers but unlike Beats 1, its services have no DJs. Instead, there are ads that can be annoying at times.
Since its launch, the radio service has been playing popular music including hits from current icons in the industry such as Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and many more. The music-only radio station is not so innovative, and it still raises the question of how profitable it will be. Regardless, it will be a welcome addition especially for music junkies, particularly ones who are more oriented towards an electro context. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) maintains that the service will not be genre-specific. All in all, it is an interesting way to initiate the service despite the lack of creativity.
