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APPLE HAS ANNOUNCED it will buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics in a much-hyped deal worth $3 billion (€2.21 billion), in a bid to to bolster its position in the hotly contested online music sector.
The move is expected to help the US tech giant, a pioneer in digital music with its wildly popular iTunes platform, ramp up its efforts to counter the successful models of streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and others.
The deal for the maker of high-end audio equipment and the subscription streaming music service is Apple’s largest acquisition ever.
It calls for Beats co-founders Dr. Dre, a Grammy-winning hip-hop pioneer, and Jimmy Iovine, a veteran music executive, to join the California company.
“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.
That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.
Bringing Beats into the Apple fold will offer opportunities to weave iTunes Radio service into more devices, and even spread the App Store for mini programs to other products, according to analysts.
Adding Beats will give Apple fresh star power in music and the ability to get more ad revenues from streaming including mobile.
The deal represents a shift in strategy for Apple, which is known for developing its own products in-house and making only modest acquisitions.
But some analysts say the logic for the tie-up is not entirely clear.
“Confusing”
“It’s a little confusing to me what Apple is getting out of it,” said Bob O’Donnell, analyst and founder of Technalysis Research.
O’Donnell said Beats “appeals to a demographic that is different from some of the typical Apple demographics” and has a streaming music service with “a relatively limited number of customers.”
“It doesn’t seem a great match unless there are other issues at play,” O’Donnell told AFP. “But my guess is that Apple isn’t going to spend that much without that being the case.”
The analyst said Apple may be able to give a boost to its recently launched iTunes streaming service, or possibly get a foothold in the lucrative market for music accessories.
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If its not Apple its Google or Facebook. They are devouring everything.
Innovate or die, as they say. Just look at Nokia.
Did they offer cash or stocks? May have seen it as a half decent investment and with an overvalued stock price (and market) they offered apple shares for the company.. the M&A wave at the moment indicates there will be a crash shortly!
2.7b in cash. Rest in stock
ITunes is screwed due to spotify and other such services.
Fair play dr dre
Dre has maid more money from Beats headphone sales than Rapping even before he sold his shares bit of useless information for yas
I think he was listed as the richest musician in the world last year as a result. Maybe now he’ll get off his arse and make a new album
Does that mean Beats Entertainment is no longer registered in Clonakilty, Co. Cork??
…”byores ain’t sh** but hoes and tricks bai”…
The most overrated phone and the most overrated headphones, keep up the good work apple
The purchase has nothing to do with the headphones. It’s the streaming service they want
I’m surprised Apple have associated themselves with such an inferior product like Beats. Although its very like there own IPhone story I suppose. Its not the best product out there, but with mass marketing, and advertising, its easy to fool a large proportion of the public into buying it.
Exactly, better products are available for more than half the price, sure HTC dropped beats audio because it was rubbish
From NWA to Hip Hop’s first Billionaire.
Fair play to Dr Dre.
Definitely overrated and overpriced but they do what they’re suppose to do, mimic standing by the speakers in a club, very bass heavy compared to brands like Sennheiser whose freq response is quite flat.
Great for dance music and rap, not so good for acoustic guitar.
Read the article. Apple didn’t buy them for the headphones.
Beats are shockingly bad but apple didn’t buy them for their quality they bought it for the brand name
No they bought them for their streaming service.
Loved me some NWA and the chronic lp back in the day.
€3 Billion is an extraordinary amount to sell a company which makes something that already existed beforehand. Headphones aren’t a new idea after all.
I know Dre has a high profile in music but the business skills it must take to create a marginally better version of something that already exists and turn it into a multi-billion valued brand is really amazing to me.
Apple didn’t buy them for the headphones
Ni**az With Appletude
Just goes to show most of the apple haters are just sheep bleating out regurgitated bile. Apple bought beats for it’s streaming not for the crap headphones .
Its a lot of money to pay for a paltry 650,000 subscribers. At that rate Apple might get there investment back by the year 2114.
I’m sure apple know what they are doing after all remember apple Newton!
Beats are crap! Worst headphones I’ve ever gotten for the price,the marketing used is probably one if the best of all time though , basically every celebrity was pictured wearing a pair at some stage,terrible headphones though!
Wasn’t bought for the headphones…bought for the steaming service
Well Apple didn’t forget about Dre.. Sorry.
I have the htc 1 m8 and the beats speakers are pretty sweet..I can see Apple using them on future IPhones so not good news for htc
I wouldn’t worry about it. Look at team viper’s rom for HTC and it includes Sony Xplode sound as well . Miles better than Beats.
My HTC one’s speakers are ruined and crackly thanks to the Beats by Dre partnership :(
Dr Dre isn’t even a real doctor. His PHD is in music.
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