Apple Music Drops 'Made by Sound' Identity Built From Mineral Oil Ripples

Apple Music built its new brand identity by playing music through a transducer into a shallow bath of mineral oil and filming the resulting ripples. The system, designed by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, anchors the streaming service's new "made by sound" positioning and starts rolling out across original content and event programming this week.

How did Apple turn music into a logo?

The agency's process started in a studio, not a design suite. Apple and MAL teamed with British producer Fred Again and sound design firm Nest Acoustics. They played a piece of music through a transducer — a device that converts an audio signal into physical vibration — set inside the oil bath. The team filmed the resulting ripples, then shaped those waveforms into the new visual system.

Apple released a behind-the-scenes film documenting the build, from the original track to the finished mark. The wordmark pairs the Apple symbol with a bold lowercase cut of SF Pro, Apple's in-house typeface, set to mirror the energy of music playback. Apple positioned the rebrand as designed to give the platform "a sound of its own."

What changes for fans this week?

The new look starts appearing across Apple Music's original content and event programming this week. Out-of-home advertising will follow. Apple teased the new logo last month as part of the marketing rollout for Apple Music Hall, the company's new live entertainment venue in London.

The rebrand lands two weeks after Apple Music's iOS 27.2 update shipped a minimalist black-and-white app icon. That change drew sharp social media criticism, with users calling the icon too plain. The new wordmark and mnemonic appear aimed at restoring character the icon debate cost the brand.

What does the Super Bowl timeline look like?

The identity push lines up with Apple Music's biggest live moment. On Feb. 14, 2027, the platform sponsors the Super Bowl 61 halftime show. Puck reported earlier this week that Jay-Z is set to headline, though the NFL, Apple, and Roc Nation haven't confirmed. Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber were also reportedly in contention.

Apple Music hasn't set a date for the headliner reveal. The rebrand's launch window gives the platform a fresh look in time for the marketing surge that typically follows the announcement — a deliberate runway into the Feb. 14 broadcast.

Why build a brand from sound waves?

A mnemonic has to work in audio and video, not just on a splash screen. Apple and MAL's choice to start with a physical recording of music gives the team a single asset that can flex across trailers, social clips, sponsor bumpers, and the halftime broadcast itself. The pipeline also gives the brand a behind-the-scenes story Apple can sell to press and on stage.

The trade-off: a logo built on motion will look flat on a still app icon, where Apple's critics already feel the visual character is gone. Apple now needs to prove the ripple can carry the brand in static form too.

The rebrand lands ahead of the Feb. 14, 2027 broadcast, giving Apple a fresh visual system to plug into a halftime marketing cycle that typically starts months before kickoff.