June 30, 2015: Apple launches 24/7 radio station Apple Music 1 (launched originally as Beats 1). Part of Apple Music, the new global radio station features top DJs ranging from former BBC presenter Zane Lowe to top musical artists like Lil Wayne.
Apple calls Apple Music 1 “the biggest radio station in the world” and says it beats (no pun intended) all other music stations when it comes to concurrent listeners. However, without hard figures to back that up, some call out Cupertino on this claim.
Apple Music 1 launch brings 24/7 live music to Apple fans
As its name suggests, the origin of Beats 1 can be traced back to Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014. This gave Apple the music-themed brand and tech with which it started building the basis for its subscription-based streaming service Apple Music.
However, Zane Lowe — one of the first Beats 1 DJs — said the time frame for creating Beats 1 proved incredibly tight. The team, he said in interviews over the years, had just three months to “build Beats 1 from scratch.”
Unlike Apple Music, Beats 1 required no subscription to listen to. In theory, this opened it up to a massive audience, even if Apple never revealed the exact number of listeners.
In 2020, Cupertino changed the station’s name to Apple Music 1 and launched two other radio stations: Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country. And in December 2024, Apple added three more free stations: Apple Música Uno, Apple Music Club and Apple Music Chill.
6 live radio stations on Apple Music
As of June 2025, Apple Music operates six live global radio stations:
- Apple Music 1 is a 24/7 live radio station featuring music, artist interviews and exclusive shows. Main presenters include Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden, Matt Wilkinson and Brooke Reese. The station also features artist-hosted shows from the likes of Lady Gaga, Elton John, Nicki Minaj, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and about a dozen more.
- Apple Music Hits broadcasts the biggest songs from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, along with shows hosted by notable presenters and artists, including Othertone from Pharrell Williams and Deep Hidden Meaning hosted by Nile Rodgers.
- Apple Music Country is a 24/7 station dedicated to, you guessed it, country music. It features shows from top country artists and personalities like Kelleigh Bannen, Ward Guenther and Fancy Hagood.
- Apple Música Uno plays a broad range of Latin music, including reggaetón, tropical, Música Mexicana and Latin pop.
- Apple Music Club broadcasts dance and electronica. All shows are available on-demand as DJ Mixes on Apple Music.
- Apple Music Chill plays a mix of chill music across genres to help listeners relax and unwind. Think Brian Eno and Stephan Moccio.
The six stations remain free for people who don’t subscribe to Apple Music.
Free live radio on Apple Music
Photo: Apple
Lowe said early on that he was “not sure” how essential Beats 1 was to the overall Apple Music experience — although he hoped “there’s a place for it.” In the years since the Beats 1 launch, Apple’s main radio station continues to garner big-name interviews and celebrity hosts, particularly in the hip-hop world. (Lowe still hosts The Zane Lowe Show.)
Strangely, Apple does relatively little to promote its radio stations. And the focus on them as a key differentiator for Apple Music seems to have gone the way of the streaming service’s controversial early focus on exclusives.
Do you listen to any of Apple’s radio stations? What do you think of them? Let us know in the comments below.
