After ten consecutive and successful years, Apple is putting an end to its Apple Music Festival. The Festival, which was held annually in London, has hosted artists like Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, Elton John and many more.
The very first Apple Music Festival (then known as Apple iTunes Festival) was held in 2007. It started off as a one-month long concert series with different artists featured every night. For the majority of its tenure, the Apple Music Festival was held at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London. Other locales include the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, KOKO, and Moody Theatre. Moody Theatre, which is located in Austin, Texas of the United States, marked the first and last time that the Apple Music Festival was held at two locations at once, in 2014.
Since its rename to Apple Music Festival in 2015, all concerts were made free to stream for Apple Music users. No reason was given for the cancellation of the festival, but reports suggest that Apple is shifting their aim on more original content. According to MacRumors, Roundhouse had already begun sending out emails confirming that it will not host Apple Music Festival in 2017.
Personally, I think that while the Apple Music Festival seems to be canned, it may not be for good. We must note that Apple’s history is all about music — the company first unveiled the iPod back in 2001. That is a whopping sixteen (16) years ago! The company released the iPod as an answer to the incredibly clunky Walkman and portable CD players of the time. As time went on, Apple moved to digital services and took their music with them. The iTunes Store opened on 23 April 2003 and revolutionised the way the entertainment industry does business.
With the advent of Apple’s new music streaming service, Apple Music, and their free, globally broadcast radio show, Beats1, it is highly unlikely that the company have scrapped the Apple Music Festival for good. I guess only time will tell.
[Sources: 9to5 Mac, Arstechnica, Engadget, Macrumors, Music Business Worldwide, YouTube]
Junior Editor at Vamers. From Superman to Ironman; Bill Rizer to Sam Fisher and everything in-between, Edward loves it all. He is a Bachelor of Arts student and English Major specialising in Language and Literature. He is an avid writer and casual social networker with a flare for all things tech related.