Skip to main content

Apple Music will stream 808 drum machine documentary first

Apple Music will stream 808 drum machine documentary first

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Apple has negotiated a deal with the creators of 808 — a documentary about the seminal Roland TR-808 drum machine — for exclusive streaming rights through Apple Music. The documentary will appear on Apple’s music service first, on December 9th, the company announced this week on its official Beats 1 YouTube channel, before it becomes available elsewhere.

808 tracks the monumental impact the drum machine has had on modern music, despite being discontinued in the 1980s, with artists as varied as Pharrell Williams, David Guetta, Phil Collins, and Lil’ Jon singing its praises on camera. The movie premiered originally in 2014, and has shown at film festivals since, but Apple’s streaming deal gives it exclusive access to a hip bit of musical history. There’s another Apple connection, too — 808 is narrated by Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe.