Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' Also Available Exclusively on Apple Music

One of the ways Apple will draw customers to Apple Music is through exclusive content that's unavailable on other music services. Pharrell will release his new single "Freedom" exclusively on the platform, Taylor Swift has already promised to make her 1989 album available on Apple Music, and now Apple has confirmed that Dr. Dre's album The Chronic will also make its streaming music debut on the service.

Released in 1992, The Chronic has never before been made available on any streaming music service, including the hip hop star's own Beats Music service.

thechronic
As outlined by Rolling Stone, the site that first reported the news, the album had been the subject of an ongoing legal battle between Dr. Dre and his former label Death Row Records, which may be the reason why it's been previously unavailable. Dre received full digital rights to The Chronic in 2011 and is free to release the album on Apple Music.

Exclusive content will likely be an ongoing feature in Apple Music, with Apple working to secure deals with a number of artists. Ahead of Apple Music's debut, the company was rumored to be in talks with dozens of high-profile musical acts like Florence and the Machine and Taylor Swift.

In addition to sharing exclusive songs and album releases on Apple Music, Apple is also hoping to engage artists and customers through its Apple Music Connect platform, a social network that lets artists share photos, videos, and other content with fans.

The company's worldwide 24/7 live radio station, Beats 1 radio, will also feature one-of-a-kind content like interviews and music curated by celebrities. Eminem, a close friend of Dr. Dre, will be the first Beats 1 interviewee following tomorrow's launch of Apple Music and Beats 1, and Dr. Dre will host his own radio show on the station.

Update 6:35 PM Pacific: The New York Times reports that AC/DC will also be streaming its collection through Apple Music, Spotify and Rdio.

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

DocPenguin Avatar
139 months ago
All of these exclusivity deals are going to drive me back to pirating music.

If you don't release your music to every streaming service, at the same time, I'll gladly download from a source where you won't get a dime of my money.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jimmy James Avatar
139 months ago
Where did he get his PhD? In which field?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tgwaste Avatar
139 months ago
Where did he get his PhD? In which field?
The field of making one of the best albums of all time.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jazwire Avatar
139 months ago
This is only good news for Apple, bad news for the rest of us.
Yep, this is what is going to making the future of streaming services suck. They always find a way to ruin things.

You want artist A you need to subscribe to service X
You want artist B you need to subscribe to service Y
You want artist C you need to subscribe to service Z
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocPenguin Avatar
139 months ago
Why, do you use Spotify and you wanted to hear it there instead? :p
It's not an issue of Spotify vs Apple Music, vs Tidal, vs whatever. It's an issue of fragmentation. These deals hurt all users of every streaming service.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Arrr Avatar
139 months ago
Where is Detox at?
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)