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Talking Apple Music on TV3 News 6PM

Bill Bennett on TV3 News.

New Zealand DJ Zane Lowe is the face of Apple Music. TV3 journalist Adam Hollingworth interviewed me for last night’s 6PM news bulletin me for last night’s 6PM news bulletin asking me what it means for local music.

There’s good and bad news for local radio. Apple Music and other streaming services mean New Zealand stations face a well-funded, well-resourced rival with global reach. People who spend so much per month for these services will listen less, if at all, to locally made radio.

On the other hand while Apple Music isn’t one-size-fits-all, it is global and that gives the local radio programmers an opportunity to work on tailoring their output to New Zealand tastes.

Either way, there’s downward pressure on the value of a broadcast licence and more change on the way for NZ music stations.