While best of’s and lists in general rarely serve as more than clickbait, Apple Music‘s ‘Best Of 2015’ list amounts to even less thanks to it being region specific. For instance, while Bring Me The Horizon‘s ‘That’s The Spirit” holds the title for the the best ‘rock’ release in Canada, the Alabama Shakes‘ “Sound & Color” holds that title in the United States. The best rock album of the year in Australia? Tame Impala‘s “Currents“.
This is all well and good, but Apple didn’t go out of their way to specify that these lists were region specific, causing needless confusion in the process. A list is a list, but Apple Music‘s position as perhaps the top digital retailer in the world certainly allows their choices to have considerable sway.
Meanwhile, on a more egregious note, a metal category is absent in the U.S. & Canadian regions, but present in the Australian and UK regions, with Parkway Drive‘s “Ire” and Bring Me The Horizon‘s “That’s The Spirit” taking home the top metal album in those regions respectively. So is this Apple‘s way of saying North Americans don’t think metal is relevant enough?
Stoked to announce that @iTunes have voted “IRE” as the best Metal album of 2015 @AppleMusic. #iTunes #AppleMusic #bestof2015 — Parkway Drive (@parkwayofficial) December 10, 2015
