It has been exactly a decade since Apple Music arrived to revolutionise the way we discover and listen to our favourite music. Far beyond being a simple streaming platform, in these 10 years the service has evolved until it offers more than 100 million songs, expert-curated playlists, artist interviews and live broadcasts. Apple Music is already part of our daily lives.
A very special countdown: the 500 most-played songs in Apple Music history
What better way to celebrate Apple Music than by revisiting the songs we have listened to the most over these 10 years? From today, 1 July, until 5 July, Apple Music is launching a countdown to reveal the 500 most-played tracks on the platform since its birth. Each day 100 new songs will be unveiled, culminating this Saturday with the publication of the 100 most-played of all time.
The result is collected in “10 Years of Apple Music: Big Hits”, a playlist available to enjoy at any time that, besides bringing a dose of nostalgia for many of us, will let us rediscover the hits that have defined an entire decade of music. The playlist also gathers exclusive releases, live events and moments that only Apple Music has made possible.
But that is not all. Alongside this special celebratory playlist, “Replay All Time” is also launching: a new feature that, similar to Apple Music Replay 2024, lets us relive our most-played songs since we first started using Apple Music. It provides an interactive summary of how our relationship with music has evolved over these 10 years.
A new creative studio in Los Angeles, with artists centre stage
If that sounds like too little, relax — Apple wanted to go further by inaugurating a brand-new creation studio in Los Angeles to mark the anniversary. With it, Apple Music begins a new chapter. We are talking about a three-storey creative campus of more than 1 394 m² that offers a place to create, record, experiment and share music like never before.
Among its facilities are two radio studios designed for live broadcasts, interviews and impromptu performances. There is also a 372 m² stage for fan events, a spatial-audio mixing room — equipped with a PMC 9.2.4 system — and spaces dedicated to content creation, from podcast booths to a social-media lab. All of it is conceived so that artists can bring their creative vision to life as authentically as possible.
And this new Los Angeles studio is only the first in a series of creative hubs that Apple plans to open around the world. Spaces are already open in New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris and Nashville, and more cities are set to join. Apple’s aim is clear: to support talent and provide a global platform through which artists can connect more directly with their fans.
Apple Music Radio: the heart of the service
Within Apple’s musical ecosystem, Apple Music Radio — with live broadcasts 24 hours a day, interviews, exclusives and artist-curated specials — has been an essential part of Apple Music ever since its launch as Beats 1.
During this celebratory week, Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and other hosts will lead a special schedule that revisits the service’s most emblematic moments. Among the highlighted events are “Don’t Be Boring”, a programme looking back at the origins of radio on Apple Music, and “10 Years of Apple Music”, an eight-hour special bringing together the best of the service’s history.
On this tenth anniversary of Apple Music, we celebrate the road travelled and recognise the start of a new era — one in which creators will have more tools, more freedom and better platforms to express themselves. These 10 years have been only the beginning. The future of music is more alive than ever, and Apple Music is ready to keep setting the pace.
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