Apple has rebranded its Beats 1 radio station to ‘Apple Music 1,’ as well as launching two new stations: Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.
Today, Apple announced it was rebranding its flagship radio station from Beats 1 to Apple Music 1. It’s a logical move, given that “Beats 1” was the only place Beats branding showed up in the Apple Music service. But on the other hand, the station has been going for over five years now, and Apple calls is “one of the most-listened-to radio stations in the world.”
Apple Music is also launching a few new, very mainstream stations today. Apple Music Hits will focus on, as you might expect, the biggest songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, something that implies it won’t focus on newer music. The show will be hosted in a similar fashion to Apple Music 1; hosts include Sayde Donovan, Estelle, Lowkey, Jenn Marino, George Stroumboulopoulos, Sabi, Nicole Sky, and Natalie Sky.
Apple Music Country, meanwhile, will spotlight country music. Daily hosts include Kelleigh Bannen, Ty Bentli, Bree, Alecia Davis, Ward Guenther, Nada, and Tiera. There will also be weekly shows from Ashley Eicher and Kelly McCartney, plus exclusive shows from top artists and producers.
“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,” Oliver Schusser, vice president of Apple Music, Beats, and International Content, said in a statement.
In a press release the company said:
Apple today announced two new live global radio offerings on Apple Music, now available to music fans in 165 countries. Beginning today, Beats 1, the flagship global radio station, will be renamed Apple Music 1, and two additional radio stations will launch: Apple Music Hits, celebrating everyone’s favorite songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s, and Apple Music Country, spotlighting country music. Since Apple Music’s launch in 2015, Beats 1 has grown into one of the most-listened-to radio stations in the world, consistently delivering the best in-depth artist interviews, more global exclusives and premieres than anywhere else, and unique programming that produces culture-moving, news-making moments year after year. Throughout its evolution, Beats 1 has established an inherent camaraderie with the artist community and championed human curation and discovery — an approach that will continue across the three stations.
These stations and the name change should all happen today. And as before, anyone can tune into Apple Music 1 without an Apple Music subscription, provided you have the Apple Music app on your phone or computer. It’s not clear yet whether Hits and Country will be available for free as well, but Apple didn’t say as much in its press release.
