Apple Music's global creative director is Kiwi Zane Lowe, a man whose passion for music knows no limits.
The Beats 1 Radio presenter is one of the most respected interviewers in the music industry today, anchoring a number of shows on the streaming service after making an international profile for himself through enthusiasm, talent and sustained hard work.
The 46-year-old was instrumental in getting the 24/7 radio station off the ground with help from the likes of music moguls Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre in 2014, establishing Lowe's own platform to chat with the biggest names in music.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the music industry.
Accustomed to a cycle of live shows, international tours, writing and promotion with allocated downtime to recharge, musicians have been forced to tackle the creative challenges of lockdown, prompting a new wave of initiatives to stay connected with international audiences.
Our favourite songwriters had to confront new daily routines, settling into an uncertain dynamic as lockdown restrictions paused their livelihoods.
Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, where he's bunkered down with wife Kara Walters and two sons aged 12 and 14, the superstar DJ says COVID-19 has affected different artists in different ways.
"I remember talking to Miley [Cyrus] in the first week I was back... she was just going for it. She said 'I'm ready to roll, let's go, I want to connect with people, I want to bring value to people's lives, I want to have conversations'. She went for it," Lowe tells Newshub.
"When I spoke to Keith [Urban], who is a really stand-up, very straight, great person in my experience - how honest and open he was about how he found it really tough - he found the whole experience very challenging, and he was trying to work his way through it in a methodical and thoughtful way."
As Lowe reflects on how artists discovered how to create through unventured, uninspired frontiers, he notes adapting to a change of pace was a widely-felt experience.
"You don't make music or make art because you have time, you make it because you have to," he says. "What happens when you're absolutely still... you don't have a desire to say something."
Reaching out to big names including Elton John, Harry Styles, Ellie Goulding, Jennifer Lopez and Charli XCX allowed him to understand the transition to quarantine life from an artist's perspective, with some confessing they struggled to find motivation before identifying new ways to connect with fans.
"Because it's unprecedented, no one was prepared for this," says Lowe.
There's been a variety of measures explored over the last three months by chart-toppers vying to stay relevant. Fans have seen sporadic livestreams, virtual collaborations and random releases to keep them interested.
"It's going to be interesting to see from performance, to release strategies, to the kind of music that's being made to the way we're connecting with each other, what the immediate future looks like.
"We await further guidance as to how we get back to something resembling what we know and love - which is connecting, community, engagement and not being afraid."
'Genuine approach'
Recently dubbed 'pop's unofficial therapist' by the New York Times, it's Lowe's knack for respectfully delving deep into celebrities' personal experiences that sets him apart from the scores of media chasing them to generate clicks from scoops at the expense of accuracy.
With the artists fully aware of his genuine approach that lacks any underhand agenda, he is able to draw realness and struggles without exploitation.
Earlier in July, Australian singer Sia got candid about the pitfalls of fame, being protective of Maddie Ziegler and revealed she is now a grandmother after adopting two sons - a rare personal admission from the star that garnered widespread publicity.
"My youngest son just had two babies. I'm a f**king grandma! I know, right? I'm just immediately horrified. No, I'm cool. They call me 'Nana'," she told Lowe.
"I'm trying to get them to call me 'Lovey', like Kris Kardashian. I'm like, 'Call me Lovey'."
When Justin Bieber discussed the pitfalls of childhood fame, he struggled to keep his emotions at bay as he spoke about Billie Elish facing the same challenging times.
"I just want to protect her. I don't want her to lose it. I don't want her to go through anything I went through," he said, his voice breaking. "I don't wish that upon anybody. If she ever needs me, I'm just a call away."
In the chat, Bieber also opened up about his relationship with God, how he knew now-wife Hailey Baldwin was 'the one' and offered insight into his past self-destructive behaviour, labelling the time "very, very dark".
As with many of his interviews, the confessions were republished - but with the interviews undertaken in Lowe's safe haven, little room was left for sensationalised scandal.
'We've made a different show'
In the wake of COVID-19 causing lockdowns around the world, Lowe's interviews gave artists a way to offer guidance and reassurance to others.
The discussions changed, Lowe says, moving away from analysing the pathways music takes to come to life, to instead reflecting the 'stay at home' mentality and personal enjoyments.
"We've made a different show very deliberately," he says.
"Just a simple kind of switch... not just me being the fan asking the artist to talk about themselves and reflect on their own experience, but actually getting an artist to reflect on the music they love that has brought so many different stories, and it's such a deeper experience."
Lowe says he stayed motivated by becoming focused on a new approach to Beats 1, but is well aware the challenge to adapt has been felt by everybody around the world.
"I have friends in multiple industries, and that's a challenge across the board. Music is the thing I am most passionate about, so that's the thing I am most versed in having a conversation about, but it is just one industry of many, many industries - it's a global challenge."
While some may have felt the effects of COVID-19 as a gradual build-up of intensity, in Lowe's experience it was a more singular motion.
"I was at work one day and then the next day I wasn't - I was at home."
Since then he's seen people asking questions, trying to take direction for each other while embracing new ways to connect and create community.
He says the spirit of music is harder to crush than the sense of unity that is felt standing in front of a stage.
"The actual physical connectivity is going to be something that relies on many factors, so I think what you're getting from the artistic community and the industry at large, is how can we work within the environments that we can actually have some influence over.
"How can we be creative in a space where we're not reliant on unknown factors, or things that still need to be resolved? Those are the really important steps that you take but they instil confidence in the future."
With access to international artists still hanging in the balance for New Zealanders and tight restrictions in other countries limiting large gatherings, finding a new sense of normal will take work as a collective.
"We have to recognise that we have to support each other every step of the way until we can all take one big giant leap into what was."
