Apple Music debuts new radio stations full of hits and country music

Apple is launching two new radio stations, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country.

As the names suggest, the former will focus on “everyone’s favorite songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s,” while the latter will specifically cater to country aficionados.

Apple Music Hits will feature a bevy of on-air shows hosted by Jayde Donovan, Estelle, Lowkey, Jenn Marino, Sabi, Nicole Sky and Natalie Sky, George Stroumboulopoulos. It’s also bringing a lineup of new exclusive shows hosted by artists like Backstreet Boys, Ciara, and Snoop Dogg.

Apple Music Country, on the other hand, will bring shows from popular names like  Jimmie Allen, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, and Morgan Wallen, and Dave Cobb, among others.

The more curious bit is that the Big A revealed it’ll also rebrand its existing radio station, Beats 1, to — you guessed it — Apple Music 1. Groundbreaking.

Despite the success of Beats, analysts have previously speculated Apple might be considering phasing out the brand. But according to 9to5Mac, there are currently no such plans in place, noting the company has continued to add new products to the Beats lineup.

There’s also another reason Apple is unlikely to ditch Beats: some people choose Beats precisely because it’s not Apple.

Still, today’s announcement suggests Apple sees more value in Beats simply as a hardware brand.