Zane Lowe | experience it all.

Apple Music is here and Beats 1 is live! DJ host Zane Lowe kicked things off at 9am PT as promised and in case you missed the flip being switched on, you can relive the moment in the SoundCloud snippet embedded above. “We have to kick this whole thing off at some point,” he said coming out of anticipatory mood music provided by Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports. “We spent the last three months trying to build this radio station and now we can build no more. We must launch.”

The first track spun on Beats 1? That was “City” by Spring King. The Manchester band quickly flocked to Twitter to express their surprise and gratitude: “yo @zanelowe are you kidding?!!?!? you just spun our tune! you’re an absolute legend!!” Keep this in mind–it may just be the answer to a future Jeopardy question. But why start with such an obscure song? Well, that’s sort of the point of Beats 1. Lowe and company are aiming to differentiate Apple’s radio station from all the rest–instead of playing songs merely because they are popular, they spin tunes based on their personal tastes and what they think could be and should be lighting the industry on fire.

I’ve been listening into the station for the past two hours and I’m enthused to report that Lowe’s reputation from his days at BBC’s Radio 1 has followed him directly to Los Angeles, his new home for Beats 1. I’m jamming out to artists I have never heard of before, already curating a list for me to return to later. Following Spring City, Lowe celebrated AC/DC entering the world of streaming music with their classic track “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).” Later in the first hour he debuted Pharrell’s brand new song “Freedom,” a current exclusive to Apple Music and the first “world record” on Beats 1. And because he likes it so much, Lowe played it again right as it was fading out. By the end of the first hour, Lowe was introducing another never-heard-before track, a “world first” from rising R&B crooner Gallant and it’s called “Weight in Gold.” Hour 2 saw the first song to stream from Dr. Dre’s iconic rap album The Chronic, “Let Me Ride,” as well as a new song from Eminem, “Phenomenal,” from the upcoming movie Southpaw. All in all, Lowe is indeed the tastemaker that UK music fans have always touted him to be, and I can’t wait to use Beats 1 as a music discovery tool from now on.

Be sure to check out the new portal applemusic.tumblr.com to see Beats 1’s schedule for your time zone. Zane Lowe in LA, Ebro Darden in NYC, and Julie Adenuga in London host programming blocks Monday through Thursday. In addition to pumping tunes, the DJs will also air interviews exclusive to the station. Lowe confirmed today that his upcoming interview with Eminem will air tomorrow (7/1). Also, Pharrell’s radio show “Other Tone” is debuting July 5 at 3pm. Click that link to find out when more shows are launching including The Pharmacy with Dr. Dre, Elton John’s Rocket Hour, and Jaden Smith’s MSFTS FREQUENCY. Want to request a song? Call in!

Dying to know the tracks Lowe broadcasted worldwide to over 100 countries over the course of Beats 1’s first couple hours? Jump after the break. Continue reading Zane Lowe debuts Beats 1, already solidifies station as keen music discovery tool (first broadcast tracklist inside!) →

On Tuesday, June 30, Apple Music goes live and it may very well be the next evolution in the music industry like iTunes before it. With Spotify, Pandora, and Rdio breathing down Apple’s neck, the house that Steve Jobs built is ready to take on the competition with both feet in, offering up a subscription-based streaming service as well as a 24/7 global Internet radio station.

Apple unveiled Apple Music at WWDC earlier this month, and you can learn all about it there. Today I’m here to discuss what’s new before the service rolls out tomorrow morning. First let’s talk exclusives. In order to compete with the aforementioned competition, Apple is taking advantage of its artist relationships to bring special content to Apple Music that listeners won’t be able to find elsewhere. After pulling her latest album 1989 from Spotify’s library, country-turned-pop star Taylor Swift is granting Apple Music streaming rights to it. This followed, of course, Swift’s public letter to Apple regarding paying artists (both large and indie) royalties during users’ free three-month trial periods. Apple’s Senior VP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue swiftly took to Twitter to announce his company’s about-face. The indie community, as well as Swift, backed Apple’s decision to pay artists before users’ subscriptions kick in and this seemingly opened the floodgates for more goodwill and exciting exclusives coming to Apple Music. Pharrell is debuting his brand new single “Freedom” exclusively on the service on Tuesday, and it will likely come packaged with a music video. Additionally, Dr. Dre’s iconic rap album The Chronic will stream digitally for the first time on Apple Music; due to a legal spat, the Beats co-founder couldn’t even get it spinning on the Beats Music service before Apple gobbled it up.

The remainder of new information surrounds Beats 1, the new global radio station powered by Apple and run by former BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. He’ll be broadcasting from Los Angeles, and two other hand-picked DJs–Hot 97’s Ebro Darden and UK tastemaker Julie Adenuga–will broadcast live from New York City and London, respectively. In an interview with The New York Times, Lowe shared his aspirations for Beats 1, after the break. Continue reading Apple Music and Beats 1 launch Tuesday, here’s what you need to know →