Following the launch of Apple Music alongside iOS 8.4, Apple's Beats 1 radio station led by Zane Lowe has begun broadcasting. Available in more than 100 countries, Beats 1 is a 24/7 radio station that will play music around the clock with live DJs and guests.
The inaugural song played on Beats 1 radio right when it kicked off at 9:00 a.m. was Spring King's "City," which was followed by Beck's "Dreams" and Jamie xx's "In Color." Spring King was picked by Lowe as a great upcoming band from Manchester. In a move that might be somewhat controversial, Apple has decided to censor explicit content on the Beats 1 radio station, something listeners experienced when a song from Dr. Dre's Chronic album was played.
Watch on YouTubeBeats 1 features several shows by various on-air personalities, and a full lineup of what's going to be on can be found at the Beats 1 website, which forwards to Apple's new Tumblr page for Apple Music and Beats 1. The Tumblr page has a complete schedule that displays what's playing, and it adjusts to your time zone based on location.
Beats 1 will include exclusive interviews and news broadcasts, with the first interview taking place tomorrow with Eminem. According to Zane Lowe, today's focus is on the music, and several exclusive songs will be played over the course of the day.
Apple Music is available now and is free for all listeners for the first three months. Following the trial period, the service will cost $9.99 per month for individuals or $14.99 for families of up to 6.
Update: Apple has confirmed that it is censoring explicit content on its Beats 1 radio station.
Update 5:35 PM: It appears the Beats 1 radio station is currently experiencing an outage and is unavailable for some listeners. Attempting to play the station results in an unknown error.
Update 6:13 PM: Beats 1 is back up.
