Kiwi DJ Zane Lowe swaps BBC for Apple job

Zane Lowe's new role at Apple has been revealed.

Zane Lowe, an award-winning presenter on the BBC's flagship UK pop music station, Radio 1, is quitting.

Lowe, 41, who joined the station in 2003, will present his last weekday evening show next month. He is leaving to join Apple, which is rumoured to be creating a new music streaming service.

The New Zealand-born DJ has a reputation for bringing new musical talent to the airwaves, including Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran and Gnarls Barkley.

He also won an award for music broadcaster of the year at the Radio Academy Awards in 2014.

Other career highlights include exclusive interviews with some of the industry's biggest artists, including Kanye West, Jay Z, Eminem and Coldplay's Chris Martin.

Lowe has also worked as a music producer, earning a Grammy nomination for his writing and production work on Sam Smith's successful album In the Lonely Hour.

The hiring of Lowe is a coup for Apple as the technology giant is believed to be gearing up to launch a music streaming service similar to Spotify.

The service is expected to go live this northern summer. It is also set to incorporate Beats Music, the streaming service set up by rap artist Dr Dre, which Apple bought for US$3 billion last year.

Apple already has iTunes to provide music for consumers, while Beats Music has a subscription service.

- Independent