Apple Beats 1 Radio CSP

Background, industries and the impact of the internet

1) How have our music listening habits changed since 1960? Our music listening habits have changed since 1960 by music can be consumed in variety of ways; it can be consumed on live or on catch-up; music can often be consumed anywhere in the world; music is streamable and downloadable to our devices. 

2) When did Apple Beats 1 Radio launch and what is it? Beats 1 is wholly owned by Apple and launched in 2015 as a free live streaming global 'always on' radio station. It claims to work across genres but often focuses on indie and rap music.

3) What is the difference between Beats 1 Radio, iTunes and Apple Music? iTunes is all about media ownership, functioning as both a virtual record store and an efficient digital library for music and other media (movies, TV shows, etc) that you own personally. The software comes pre-installed on all Apple devices, and is available as a free download for non-Apple PCs and mobile devices. iTunes doesn’t require a subscription fee to use.

Beats 1 Radio is an internet-based global radio station.

Apple Music is all about streaming. You pay a flat fee to unlock access to Apple Music’s entire catalogue, but you don’t actually own the music you listen to. 

4) Why was Apple so keen to enter the online music world and compete with Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music (and others)? To gain more control of the streaming market:  Apple already has a loyal and substantial consumer base through iTunes.  Apple Beats 1 is another method of keeping Apple customers away from competitors such as Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music etc.

5) Why did Apple choose the three selected DJs for launch? Because they were popular and already had a fan base which would be brought over to Apple Beats 1.

6) How does the use of DJs differ from Spotify, Amazon Music and other streaming services?

 Beats 1 sells itself on the quality of the DJs and in this it is different to Spotify, Deezer and Amazon Music as it allows the audience to develop Personal Relationship (Blumler and Katz) with the DJs. 

7) How does the content of the Julia Adenuga show differ from Radio 1? Julia Adenuga show differs from Radio 1 as she presents in an enthusiastic and energetic way and makes the audience and guests on the show feel welcomed and feel as if they are talking to a best friend.

8) Why does Beats 1 radio give Apple the power to make or break new artists? Is this a good thing or a bad thing for the music industry?  Beats 1 radio gives Apple the power to make or break new artists because they can remove problematic artists and if an artist has potential they can help them achieve fans and a little fame. This is both a good and bad thing as they can remove rude and bad artists who have done harmful things but they could destroy an innocent artists career which would be really bad.

9) Read the BBC feature on the launch of Apple Beats 1 Radio. Did the industry experts think it would be a success? Why? The industry experts thought it would be successful, this was because they were going t to have 3 major DJ's who already have good fan base, come together and entertain on one of the biggest worldwide radio stations, BBC. They believes that people would be especially intrigued by the way the DJ's introduce new artists or popular songs in such a interesting way that the audience would enjoy and they would even bring their exhausting fan base along with them so either wait it was be a success.

10) Give arguments for and against the idea that Beats 1 will be a threat to traditional media industries (e.g. radio stations, record shops, online music retailers etc.)

Beats1 will be a threat to traditional media industries as it is more advanced and has good recommendations, you can listen on the go and you can have a personal relationship with the person presenting the music (e.g. Julia Adenuga).

However Beats1 may not be a threat to traditional media as there will still be some audiences that will stay attached and not want to go to Beat1 to listen to music. 

Audience

1) Who is the target audience for Beats1 and Julia Adenuga in particular? Refer to demographics and psychographics. The target audience for Beats1 and Julia Adenuga would be teenagers to young adults as they would be most likely interested in the genre of music Julia Adenuga shows.

2) Why do people listen to Beats1? Which aspects of Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory relate to Beats 1 and its audience? People listen to Beats 1 for 

• Diversion/entertainment: Music- 24hr global 'always on' music station. 
• Personal identity: Music is a huge part of our identity. Niche genres + experts in grime/hip hop/indie music.
• Personal Relationships: DJs- Julie Adenuga- audiences already have a relationship with DJs and they are also trusted.
• Surveillance/information: DJs recommend new music and audiences trust them.

3) Can the audience actively interact with the Apple Beats 1 Radio or are they passive when listening? How? Give examples. 

Active audience

• Listeners can send in requests via social media platforms (interaction happens over Twitter but the @Beats1 account only has 565k) so it’s not a huge attention driver.
• Beats 1 includes a Mixtape segment where you can submit songs: there is the space to do these recommendations right within Music.
• It’s interactive in that you can buy the music you hear, so you can ‘shift’ music from ‘radio’ to your own playlist.
• You can then ‘Share’ these playlists with other users (as in Spotify) which allows you to be more of a Prosumer. 

4) Is Apple Beats 1 aimed at a mass or niche audience? How does this differ to BBC Radio 1? Apple Beats 1 is aimed at a niche audience whilst this differs to BBC Radio 1 because it is aimed at a mass audience.

5) Do you think Apple Beats 1 radio will be popular with young audiences or are streaming services the future of audio-based media?  I believe that Apple Beats 1 will not be popular with younger audience as during this era they don't prefer radio which gives no chance for radio in the fur. Streaming supervises like Spotify would grow even more popular as young audience really enjoy listening to the music they found themselves by exploring which shows that  audio-based media will take over and destroy radio complexly by attracting more and more audience.