Apple Music’s New Logo Turns Sound Waves Into Design

WHO:

Creative Boom - Plau handled type-design consultation and vector logo reconstruction.

Creative Boom - Joe Jackson directed the behind-the-scenes film; Optical Arts produced it, Time Based Arts handled the visual effects, Trafik handled color and finishing, and Model Citizen mixed the music.

Fast Company - Apple Music, bespoke design agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab (MAL), music producer Fred again.., and his collaborator Nest Acoustics created the rebrand.

9to5Mac - Apple Music unveiled the rebrand and published a behind-the-scenes video about its new logo.

9to5Mac - The Apple Music account on X announced a new identity “physically shaped by an original composition from @fredagainagain1 and NEST Acoustics.”

WHAT:

Creative Boom - Apple Music launched in 2015 and had not rebranded in the 11 years since, according to the article.

Creative Boom - The new identity’s musical composition also serves as Apple Music’s sonic signature.

Creative Boom - The new wordmark pairs the Apple symbol with bold, lowercase letterforms.

Creative Boom - The wordmark was teased in September as part of marketing for Apple Music Hall, a new live music venue in London.

Mashable - Some people who had criticized Apple Music’s redesign appeared to be warming to it.

MacRumors - Apple’s updated branding is now live on its website.

MacRumors - The new Apple Music logo and app icon use a black-and-white design, replacing the previous red color scheme.

MacRumors - The new app icon in the iOS 27.2 beta is more basic and monochrome than the colorful animations shown in Apple’s video; it is unclear whether color will be added to the icon.

MacRumors - Apple Music has a distinct font with a modern, impactful aesthetic.

Fast Company - The final visuals included brief bursts of saturated color, with each note resembling light playing over an oil spill.

Fast Company - The finished identity takes cues from Apple’s Liquid Glass branding and Apple TV’s identity while remaining distinct.

Fast Company - Apple Music’s new branding includes a wordmark, a custom sonic logo, and a rippling visual language.

9to5Mac - Apple described its new look as “made by sound”; its video says the logo was “captured entirely in camera” and calls the result “Just music, made visible.”

Fast Company - The rebrand updates Apple Music’s note logo and wordmark; the wordmark uses a custom, chunky version of SF Pro, Apple’s typeface.

9to5Mac - Apple Music is available for $11.99 per month or through the Apple One bundle.

WHERE:

Creative Boom - Apple Music Hall is a live music venue in London.

Fast Company - The logo visuals were produced in a bath of mineral oil, with acrylic versions of Apple Music’s note logo and wordmark submerged in the liquid.

WHEN:

9to5Mac - Apple Music officially unveiled the rebrand after signs of an upcoming redesign had appeared for weeks.

MacRumors - Apple’s next software releases, including iOS 27.2 and macOS 27.2, are expected to be released next week.

Fast Company - The new identity will begin appearing across Apple Music original content and event programming this week, with a later rollout to marketing, products, and experiences.

9to5Mac - The refreshed identity will appear in iOS 27.2 when that software launches next week.

WHY:

Ars Technica - The article argues that showing the human craft behind Apple Music’s branding matters in a world of AI-generated content.

Fast Company - Apple Music sought a look and sound broad enough to represent the service’s range while being distinct and instantly recognizable.

Fast Company - The team wanted the identity to look as if it were constructed from music and sought a visual form for a signature sound.

HOW:

Creative Boom - Fred Again and NEST Acoustics broke their composition into individual notes and played each note through a transducer in oil; the resulting waves were filmed and became the foundation of the new look.

Fast Company - The team chose mineral oil for its viscosity, which made it look like glass rippling with sound.

9to5Mac - Apple said the logo was “captured entirely in camera.”

Fast Company - The months-long development involved mineral oil, acrylic props, and liquid.

Fast Company - The team built a custom rig and software to control a transducer, which converts audio signals into physical vibrations; they played different frequencies into a liquid bath and observed the responses.

Fast Company - Tests showed that too many notes or notes pitched too high produced excessive movement and made the image difficult to read, helping establish constraints for the sonic logo.

Fast Company - The team played the completed composition through a transducer in mineral oil. Its viscosity created the appearance of glass rippling with sound; liquid movement refracted light over the submerged logos, and the effects were filmed.

9to5Mac - Apple published a behind-the-scenes video explaining that the logo was created practically.

(UPDATED October 22, 2026 18:06 UTC)

Apple Music has unveiled its first major rebrand since launching in 2015, introducing a new wordmark, app icon, sonic logo, and rippling visual style. The black-and-white identity pairs Apple’s symbol with bold, custom lettering, replacing the previous red look. To make the logo appear shaped by music, producer Fred again.. and Nest Acoustics played individual notes through a transducer into mineral oil, creating waves that refracted light around acrylic versions of the logo. The team filmed the effects in camera, using the movement as the basis for the visuals and the composition as Apple Music’s sonic signature. Apple says the identity is designed to represent the service’s range while remaining recognizable. It begins appearing across original content and event programming this week, with a wider rollout to follow. The refreshed look is expected in iOS 27.2 when that software launches next week.

(UPDATED October 22, 2026 17:11 UTC)

Apple Music has unveiled a new identity, built around a black-and-white logo, a bold lowercase wordmark, a custom sonic logo and rippling visuals. The design was created with agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab, producer Fred again.. and collaborator Nest Acoustics, with Plau consulting on typography and reconstructing the logo. To make the visuals, the team submerged acrylic logos in mineral oil and played music through a transducer, causing the liquid to ripple and bend light. Apple says the logo was captured entirely in camera. The new look draws on Apple’s Liquid Glass branding while staying distinct, and is meant to give the service a recognizable identity that reflects its range of music. It will begin appearing across Apple Music original content and events this week, then roll out to marketing, products and experiences. The refreshed identity is expected in iOS 27.2 next week.

(UPDATED October 22, 2026 10:12 UTC)

Apple Music has unveiled a new identity, replacing its familiar red logo with a black-and-white note icon and a bold, custom wordmark. The rebrand, now live on Apple’s website, was created with design agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab, producer Fred again.., and collaborator Nest Acoustics. Apple describes the look as “made by sound,” with a custom sonic logo and visuals that ripple like music. To make them, the team submerged acrylic versions of the logo and wordmark in mineral oil, then used a transducer to send sound vibrations through the liquid. The movement bent light across the shapes, and the effects were filmed in camera. Apple says the new identity will appear in original content and event programming this week, then roll out more broadly. The refreshed look is expected in iOS 27.2 when that software launches next week.

(UPDATED October 21, 2026 22:23 UTC)

Apple Music has unveiled a new identity built around the idea of making music visible. Created with design agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab, producer Fred again.. and collaborator Nest Acoustics, the rebrand refreshes the service’s note logo and wordmark, adds a custom sonic logo, and introduces rippling visuals. The wordmark uses a chunky version of Apple’s SF Pro typeface, while the overall look draws on Apple’s Liquid Glass branding and Apple TV but remains distinct. To make the logo, the team submerged acrylic versions in mineral oil and played a composition through a transducer, turning audio into physical vibrations. The oil’s movement refracted light across the shapes, creating flashes of saturated color that resemble light over an oil spill. Apple says the result was captured entirely in camera. The identity will appear in original content and event programming this week, then roll out more broadly, including in iOS 27.2 next week.

(UPDATED October 21, 2026 20:29 UTC)

Apple Music has unveiled a new identity built around the idea of making music visible. Created with design agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab, producer Fred again.. and collaborator Nest Acoustics, the rebrand includes an updated note logo, a chunky custom wordmark and a sonic logo. To create the visuals, the team submerged acrylic versions of the logo in mineral oil and filmed the results. They played a composition through a transducer, turning sound into vibrations that made the liquid ripple and refract light across the shapes. A custom rig and software helped the team test different frequencies and find a sound that produced movement without obscuring the image. Apple says the logo was captured entirely in camera. The refreshed identity will appear in original content and event programming this week, then roll out more broadly, including in iOS 27.2 when it launches next week.