It’s been a massive month for Beats 1. First there was the launch at Apple’s World Developers Conference featuring cameos from Drake, The Weeknd, and Zane Lowe. Then the slow trickle of anticipation as more and more members of music royalty joined the ever-dynamic Beats 1 cast, including Dr. Dre, St. Vincent, and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig. And now, one month in, Quartz has analysed Beats 1’s most-played genres and artists, amongst other statistics.
With a top 20 list of most played tracks that included the likes of Calvin Harris (with How Deep Is Your Love) and Selena Gomez (with Good For You), the top spot was taken out by, predictably, The Weeknd with Can’t Feel My Face. It’s hardly a surprising choice, given its almost viral spread across radio and online and its criminally catchy hook (which, for the record, I heard way too many times sung by not-fully-there Splendour punters). But coming in at 107 plays over the month, it’s almost a little too reminiscent of the online furore surrounding Pharrell’s excessive promotion of his own single Freedom, with some taking to Reddit to complain about it.
The Weeknd also clocked in as the most played artist, with Drake, Disclosure, and reigning trap king Fetty Wap trailing close behind. And with such a huge lineup of hip-hop producers and musicians either headlining their own Beats 1 shows or featuring in top-played lists, it’s again unsurprisingly that hip-hop/rap was the most played genre (categorised by iTunes). It’s worth noting that Beats 1, although shaping up to be a largely hip-hop defined radio station, still features a relatively eclectic mix of tastes, especially with shows such as St. Vincent’s Mixtape Delivery Service.
Amidst all this technical jargon, we’re excited for the future of the radio station that claims to be “ALWAYS ON”, and can’t wait for new and dynamic shows coming up as more and more artists express their support for Apple Music and Beats 1.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEI4qSrkPAs
Since the much-hyped announcement of new streaming service Apple Music last month and its associated 24-hour global radio service Beats 1, there’s been much hype surrounding its star-studded lineup of collaborators. First we had BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe in typical amped-up fashion, helming his own show (which, for the record, involved many, many plays of Pharrell‘s new record and excessive shouting of ‘ALWAYS ON’). Now, Apple Music has begun to unveil a larger list of radio hosts catering to a range of genres and fans that will certainly have punters screaming with excitement.
It’s a list that includes the likes of St. Vincent, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Disclosure, Dr. Dre, Drake, Pharrell, and Ezra Koenig. St. Vincent hosted her first show (‘St Vincent’s Mixtape Delivery Service’) last week with a mixtape for an absolutely rad 11-year-old girl which included Depeche Mode and David Bowie. Run the Jewels have also signed up for a weekly Friday show with El-P and Killer Mike as they continue their ‘Jewel Runner’ tour. Most recently, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend has now announced his new show on the Beats 1 service titled ‘Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig’, tweeting hints to a list of special guests including Mark Ronson and Rashida Jones. The promo picture features a suitably spaced-out Ezra – and if his Twitter is anything to go by, it’ll be bizarrely humorous.
Check out the full details of Beats 1 here. In the meantime, check out St. Vincent’s mixtape for her super-cute pre-teen fan here (ironically, on Spotify):