Apple Music is now the exclusive music partner for Verzuz, the hugely popular Instagram Live battle series presented by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland.
Apple Music will be working alongside Swizz Beatz and Timbaland to produce new episodes of Verzuz and the battles will now be simulcast live on Apple Music and Beats 1.
Instigated by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz in late March, the live-streamed event is a lockdown iteration of the beat battle concept perfected live on stage by the two producers at Summer Jam in 2018.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’ Instagram Live battle has since been followed up by a number of other high-profile face-offs from the likes of Sean Garrett and The-Dream, plus Lil Jon and T-Pain.
Beginning today (July 20) these battles will be simulcast live on Apple Music and Beats 1 for free at the same time as the Verzuz Instagram Live channel and will be available on-demand following the live streams.
Verzuz also recently put together a special episode featuring Alicia Keys and John Legend to celebrate Juneteenth that was streamed live on Apple Music and Beats 1.
Snoop Dog and DMX will take part in one of Verzuz’ next battles, on Wednesday, July 22 at 5pm PT.
The live-streamed battles, according to a press release, were “born out of a desire for community during this era of distancing, these time-stopping events have become a celebration of the parallel artistry of hip-hop and R&B’s biggest songwriters, producers, and artists, pitting them against each other in good-natured face-offs that have made for some of the best entertainment in music since live concerts”.Music Business Worldwide
