Beats 1 to feature celebrity shows hosted by Elton John, Drake, Pharrell, Dr. Dre & more

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited June 2015
Apple will indeed have a number of mainstream musicians host shows on Beats 1 including Drake, Disclosure, St. Vincent, Josh Homme, Pharrell Williams, and Elton John, a report said on Thursday.

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Some other people who will have shows include actor Jaden Smith, and Dr. Dre, one of the co-founders of Beats, the The New York Times said on Thursday. Beats 1 will alternate one- and two-hour programming blocks from the station's usual DJs -- during weekdays including Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden, and Julie Adenuga -- with the special celebrity shows, which will be both planned and hosted by the celebrities in question.

Most other programming details have yet to be made public, but John's show will be called "Elton John's Rocket Hour," and mix old and new music.

The station is also beginning to line up celebrity interviews. The first guest will be rapper Eminem, whose interview has already been recorded, despite Beats 1 not going live until Apple Music debuts on June 30.

Beats 1 is different approach to radio for Apple, which has had little success with the Pandora-like iTunes Radio. A modified version of that service will remain intact alongside Beats 1.

Apple Music itself will be an on-demand service, akin to Spotify or Rdio, costing $10 per month at the end of a three-month free trial. That trial has proven controversial, since Apple initially didn't intend to pay rights holders for streams during that period. It recently reversed course, and is now expected to pay 0.2 cents per song during trials, as well as an additional smaller fee for songwriting rights. A more conventional royalty structure will kick in after trials are finished.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    It would be cool to have a 24 hr. live stream (a la Periscope) from the DJ booths.

    In fact, it wouldn't take much more of a leap of imagination to see Apple creating a range of Beats stations as MTV-style video channels on Apple TV.
  • Reply 2 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    killer.

    this will be so hot.

    where are all the Beats acquisition haters now?  Doing a sleep over with Robert Frost?

    Ooh just what everyone has been waiting for...Elton John's Rocket Hour. :lol:

    SiriusXM has had celebrity shows/hosts for a long time. I don't see what the big deal is.
  • Reply 3 of 35
    I don't see Yo Yo Ma being considered, just these useless pop stars who make their insipid little tunes.
  • Reply 4 of 35
    bobjohnsonbobjohnson Posts: 154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    SiriusXM has had celebrity shows/hosts for a long time. I don't see what the big deal is.

     

    Sirius XM requires special hardware and a monthly subscription, while Beats 1 is available for free on every Mac and iPhone sold in the last 5 years? 

     

    EDIT: and iPad and iPod touch.

  • Reply 5 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    bobjohnson wrote: »
    Sirius XM requires special hardware and a monthly subscription, while Beats 1 is available for free on every Mac and iPhone sold in the last 5 years? 

    EDIT: and iPad and iPod touch.

    I still don't see what the big deal is. Are people that interested in celebrity talk shows?
  • Reply 6 of 35

    I really hope this service works for Apple because it doesn't just sound like a Pandora clone; I hope they've done discreet public opinion research on this because it kinda sounds like an idea that a couple of Apple execs came up with at a cocktail party.

  • Reply 7 of 35
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    rogifan wrote: »
    I still don't see what the big deal is. Are people that interested in celebrity talk shows?

    Yes, they are: http://www.tv.com/shows/category/talk-and-interview/?skipm
  • Reply 8 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    the big deal is SiriusXM takes alot of hoops to make it work.  Seriously.

    EASE. OF. USE.  

    Just give it up TROJ!  AppleMusic is going to dominate.

    Honestly I don't think that many people care about celebrity radio shows. Obviously Apple needs to do something to fill time on Beats 1 but I don't think it's going to be a big deal .
  • Reply 9 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member

    That's TV. I'm specifically referring to radio. But hey maybe I'm totally off base and people will love this and tune in in droves.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    It would be cool to have a 24 hr. live stream (a la Periscope) from the DJ booths.

    In fact, it wouldn't take much more of a leap of imagination to see Apple creating a range of Beats stations as MTV-style video channels on Apple TV.

    There definitely will be more Beat stations. Why else would they have called it Beats 1. I love listening to the radio and I'd much rather pay than listen to endless commercials. Apple should include several talk radio stations, too, imo. They'd have to do very little work - just curate the thousands of podcasts. So many of them are fantastic but a lot of people are not organized enough to download and remember to play saved podcasts and instead just turn on the radio to see what is playing (.... note to self.. become more organized!)
  • Reply 11 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    how many people watch TV when they drive to work?  Or when they are on the bus/train/subway?

    How many people have generous data caps that allow them to stream over cellular on the way to work/school?
  • Reply 12 of 35
    Quote:


     Some other people who will have shows include actor Jaden Smith


    ...why? The kid is wacky, and doesn't have anything to do with music.

  • Reply 13 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    sog35 wrote: »
    its all about the communting experience.  What do people LISTEN to when they communte 2-3 hours every day.  You can't do video since that takes way to much data.

    And stop comparing Sirus to AppleMusic.  Sirus you have to WAIT to listen to what you want.  With Apple its on DEMAND and you also get live content.  I can see AppleMusic developing a ton of new stations that cover news, sports, entertainment, ect.

    Sirus is old tech like FM/AM radio.

    I was specifically comparing the celebrity shows to SiriusXM. Yes I know Apple has on demand streaming like Spotify, Rdio and Google Play Music.
  • Reply 14 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    ...why? The kid is wacky, and doesn't have anything to do with music.

    I'm just waiting for the Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian shows. Those aught to be a real hoot. :D
  • Reply 15 of 35
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    I'm just waiting for the Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian shows. Those aught to be a real hoot. image



    Cyrus, absolute nutjob that she is (how's that "I'm her friend!" working out, Billy?), at least is a musician.

  • Reply 16 of 35
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member

    Not feelin' it.

    I'm with Rogifan on this one.

    (let the hate fly)

  • Reply 17 of 35
    That's so cool!
    Like a real old school radio station!
    Can't wait for the slayer guest spot.
  • Reply 18 of 35
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    streaming audio does not take much data.




    For 256Kbps stream: If you commute 30 minutes each way for 20 days a month you would use a little more than 2 GB of data.

  • Reply 19 of 35
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sog35 View Post

     

     

    2GB is very little for an average iPhone user.

    I use about 10-15 GB a month.




    For typical AT&T user that is more than a third of a 5 GB data plan.

  • Reply 20 of 35
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member

    Cyrus, absolute nutjob that she is (how's that "I'm her friend!" working out, Billy?), at least is a musician.
    You have a generous definition of musician. :lol:
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