If anyone's got an informed opinion on the current state of the music industry, it's Zane Lowe. The New Zealand-born DJ-turned-host certainly has the CV for it: he's renowned for his intimate one-on-ones with the world's biggest artists (first on BBC Radio 1, then on Apple Music's Beats 1) and is currently the global creative director of Apple Music. So good is he at getting superstars to open up, they sometimes shed tears on his show.
Turns out Lowe's also got a few thoughts on where the industry is going. Recently, Beats 1 rebranded as Apple Music 1, launching two new global radio stations—Apple Music Hits and Apple Music Country—and The Zane Lowe Show as its flagship program. To Lowe, it's just another step in mainstream radio's evolution into the streaming world. "Five years ago, I noticed that fans were going to streaming and subscription and artists were, too," he explains to us. "So I could stand here and try to hold onto everybody and create appointment listening—which could still work: it's called sports—or I could recognize that people's time is their own to do with what they want. And the only thing I should be focusing on... is that I need to make something that's really, really great so they want to include me in their time management."
Complex Canada’s Alex Narvaez caught up with Lowe to chat about his new show, the Toronto sound, candid moments with Drake and Jessie Reyez, and his unique perspective on music from the viewpoint of both curator and artist.
