Over the summer, Apple Music hosted a series of seven exclusive concerts at global Apple Stores. The concerts featured artists Bad Bunny, Omar Apollo, Khalid, King Princess, Daniel Caesar, Ashley McBryde, and Lewis Capaldi.
Anyone who missed them can now check out these rising stars in concert, courtesy of Apple’s “Up Next Live” EPs. Now streaming on Apple Music.
As Billboard notes:
“Each EP … was recorded live over the course of the summer during intimate, in-store performances at Apple retail locations around the world.
The series of recordings kicked off in July with Bad Bunny’s performance at Piazza Liberty in Milan and concluded with Khalid’s after-hours set at Washington D.C.’s Carnegie Library.”
Promoting up-and-coming artists
This isn’t the first time Apple has done something similar. From 2007 to 2017, Apple ran the iTunes Festival (later Apple Music Festival) in the U.K. In addition to offering tickets for fans to attend live, Apple streamed the shows online. That gave fans who couldn’t attend the chance to listen in.
Despite its size, one of Apple Music’s big pushes has been on curation and helping promote up-and-coming artists. That’s a crucial role in a time when the massive availability of music online can result in newer artists being ignored.
Even if these particular artists aren’t your thing, it’s great to see Apple putting its weight behind up-and-coming talents for its “Up Next Live” EPs. For those who don’t know, the name comes from Apple’s existing “Up Next” playlists.
