Apple Music is celebrating a milestone birthday with a bold move—opening its most ambitious creative studio yet, right in the heart of Los Angeles. At the same time, it’s rolling out a nostalgic, number-crunching countdown that might just have you asking: Have I really listened to “Blinding Lights” that many times?
A Birthday Gift That’s 15,000 Square Feet Wide
Forget cake and candles—Apple Music’s way of celebrating its tenth anniversary is much more industrial. The tech giant is opening a 15,000-square-foot, multi-level studio campus in Los Angeles, packed with tech, talent, and the kind of polish that screams “big budget.”
Inside the building? A bit of everything.
There’s a massive 4,000-square-foot soundstage for intimate live sets, two high-spec radio broadcast rooms outfitted with Spatial Audio playback tech, and mixing rooms boasting a 9.2.4 PMC speaker system that would make any engineer sweat with excitement.
And it’s not just for music. The space includes isolated podcast booths, social media labs, and edit bays built for whatever content creators dream up next. Even the hallways are dressed up—literally—with memorabilia nodding to iconic Apple Music moments from the past decade.
One sentence doesn’t do it justice.
“The new studio is a natural evolution of our goal: creating a space for artists to create, connect, and share their vision,” said Rachel Newman, co-head of Apple Music, in a statement.
From Tokyo to Tennessee: Now LA Joins Apple’s Global Music Map
The Los Angeles campus isn’t a standalone outpost—it’s the newest addition to Apple Music’s international web of creative spaces.
Studios in New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, and Nashville already serve local artists and content teams, but the LA site, given its size and tech prowess, could easily become the company’s new creative flagship.
It’s a nod to where the music world already is—and where Apple wants to keep it.
And yeah, let’s be honest—if you’re an artist in LA and Apple offers you that soundstage and mixing room? You’re showing up.
The Top 500: Apple Counts Down a Decade of Streaming Obsessions
To pair the studio opening with a public-facing celebration, Apple Music is diving deep into its listener data and revealing the top 500 most-streamed songs of its first 10 years.
Starting July 1, the list will trickle out in daily chunks of 100 songs, building up to a final top 100 reveal on July 5. For subscribers, it’s a rare chance to see the listening habits of millions condensed into one giant playlist.
-
The full list is called “10 Years of Apple Music: Top Songs”
-
It’ll be live in the app for all subscribers by July 5
-
Expect a lot of Drake, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and probably a few surprises
This countdown isn’t just about bragging rights—it’s a marketing masterclass in nostalgia, fandom, and shared memory.
And Here Comes “Replay All Time”
Apple’s Replay feature, its answer to Spotify Wrapped, is getting an upgrade too. “Replay All Time” lets users go back through all their listening history since joining the platform.
So yes, if you started with Apple Music in 2015 and haven’t stopped streaming Ariana Grande since then, your replay’s going to show it. Loud and clear.
It’s a smart move. Personalized data is one of the few things users are genuinely eager to hand over to big tech—as long as it comes wrapped in a glittery, digestible playlist. “Replay All Time” hits that sweet spot.
Timeline of Apple Music’s 10-Year Run
Here’s a quick glance at the platform’s biggest shifts since launch:
| Year | Major Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Launch of Apple Music with Beats 1 Radio |
| 2017 | First year Apple Music surpassed 20 million subscribers |
| 2019 | Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos debut for music streaming |
| 2021 | Apple Music Voice Plan introduced |
| 2023 | Integration of high-res lossless formats and classical music app |
| 2025 | 10-year anniversary marked with LA studio and Replay All Time |
This retrospective table shows how Apple Music has adapted to trends without losing its polished brand identity.
Big Picture: Apple Music’s Place in the Streaming Wars
Despite fierce competition—mainly from Spotify and Amazon—Apple Music has held its own, especially in the U.S. and high-income markets. Unlike Spotify, it doesn’t have a free tier, but its premium focus seems to be working just fine for a certain crowd.
According to MIDiA Research, Apple Music currently holds roughly 16% of the global music streaming market. That may sound modest, but it translates into over 110 million users worldwide, many of whom are deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem.
One sentence paragraph again.
It’s less about being first and more about being seamless—for Apple users, at least.
More Than Just Music
The 10th anniversary celebration isn’t just about showing off. It’s a reminder of how the streaming landscape has shifted over the last decade—and how companies like Apple are leaning deeper into artist relationships, exclusive content, and ecosystem loyalty.
There’s also a subtle dig here at platforms that rely too much on passive listening. Apple Music has long emphasized curation, DJ-led programming, and “radio shows” as a way to keep things feeling alive and human.
That’s part of why they’re pouring concrete into real-world studios, even in the streaming age.
So if the past decade was about digital dominance, maybe the next one is about creative control—and owning the physical spaces where culture gets made.
