Apple’s Beats 1 streaming radio service will feature celebrity hosts such as Pharrell Williams, Drake and Elton John, reports The New York Times. In a profile of Apple’s newly recruited D.J., Zane Lowe, the outlet says a number of well-known stars have been given spots.
Other well-known stars on the menu for Beats 1 programming include Dr. Dre, who will host a show called “The Pharmacy,” teen actor Jaden Smith, and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. Apparently, each of them will be hosting and planning the shows themselves.
Lowe, who just announced his first major interview will be with rapper Eminem, will be broadcasting from L.A. and share weekday anchor duties with two other pro D.J.s. There will be Ebro Darden in New York (of the hip-hop station Hot 97), and Julie Adenuga in London.
The end result is intended to be something of a supercharged radio station. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, who landed at Apple as part of last year’s Beats acquisition, says he believes Beats 1 can provide “a live, communal experience of an audience tuned in to the same songs.”
It’ll be interesting to see how it all ends up playing out. Beats 1 will launch alongside Apple Music on June 30th. Users will be able to listen to the 24/7 radio station, as well as other genre-based radio stations, for free, but the on-demand Apple Music service will run $9.99 per month.
Source: The New York Times