Beats Music

Apple paid $500M for Beats Music, $2.5B for Beats hardware (and other tidbits)

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 29, 2014

According to a breakdown of Apple's $3 billion Beats buy published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, the company basically paid less than $500 million for the Beats Music subscription service and about $2.5 billion for Beats Electronics LCC, which makes the popular Beats headphones, speakers and audio software (which some dismiss as a software equalizer that boosts the bass).

The report alleges that the acquisition - the most expensive in Apple's history - gives the Cupertino firm Beats' brand power and star leadership. The story downplays the importance of the generic Beats Music streaming service to the overall deal...

iTunes surpasses 35 billion songs sold, iTunes Radio hits 40 million listeners

Cody Lee ∙ May 29, 2014

Speaking at last night's inaugural Code Conference, Apple SVP of Internet services Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine shared some numbers on their respective music services following yesterday's major acquisition.

Iovine talked Beats Music, and Cue of course talked iTunes, which have each hit major milestones within the last week. Beats has surpassed the quarter million subscriber mark, and iTunes hit 35 billion digital downloads sold...

Apple acquires Beats for $3 billion

Joe Rossignol ∙ May 28, 2014

After weeks of speculation, Apple confirmed just moments ago that it has reached a deal to acquire Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will be joining Apple, the company announced. Beats is best known for its popular lineup of headphones, speakers and audio software, and in January launched a new streaming music service called Beats Music in partnership with AT&T.

This marks the largest acquisition that Apple has ever made, divided into a purchase price of $2.6 billion and approximately $400 million that will vest over time. But it comes at a pivotal time for Apple, as iTunes music sales decline in light of the rising popularity of streaming music services. Apple will now operate its own streaming music service in Beats Music, going head on against competitors like Spotify and Pandora…

Tim Cook interviews offer more details on Beats acquisition

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

In addition to giving comments for the press release and writing a memo to employees, Tim Cook apparently invited a handful of high profile journalists to Apple's Cupertino headquarters today to talk about the just-announced Beats acquisition.

Cook spoke with reporters from the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times and other publications this afternoon on the Beats buyout. And we've rounded up some of the more interesting tidbits from each interview, below...

Beats Music apps to remain in Android, Windows Phone stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Now that the long-rumored Beats deal has been confirmed by Apple, folks are wondering what's to become of the Beats Music service. Although it just launched in January, it has already built up a [small] loyal following of subscribers.

The good news is, it sounds like Apple is going to allow Beats to operate as a separate company, which will include its streaming music service. And according to reports, it has no plans to pull the Android and Windows Phone clients...

Tim Cook issues memo to Apple employees regarding Beats deal

Cody Lee ∙ May 28, 2014

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple confirmed that it has reached an agreement to acquire Beats Electronics this afternoon. The deal is worth $3 billion, split into a $2.6 billion payout and $400 million that will vest over time.

In the press release, Tim Cook said that 'music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple.' And he shared a similar sentiment in a memo he just emailed to the company's employees...

Beats Music drops annual subscription fee to $99, free trial extended to 14 days for everyone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

Hot on the heels of officially announcing the major $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics LCC., and ahead of its SVP Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi's joint appearance at the Code Conference tonight, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre's four months old music service has just sweetened the deal.

The startup has dropped the price of Beats Music yearly subscription free to $99.99, down from $119.88.

Additionally, the previous 7-day free trial of Beats Music has now been extended in a “no strings attached” move to fourteen days to all users...

Apple to announce $3 billion Beats acquisition this week

Cody Lee ∙ May 27, 2014

Apple has remained mum on rumors that it's looking to acquire Beats Electronics, but it appears it's finally ready to break the silence. The New York Post reports tonight that the Cupertino firm is expected to announce the acquisition within the next few days.

Perhaps even more interesting is that the Post says Apple has managed to trim some $200 million off the price tag during the past two weeks of negotiation. According to the outlet's sources, the company has reached a deal to buy Beats for an even $3 billion...

Billboard: Apple-Beats deal delayed due to valuation, role uncertainties

Cody Lee ∙ May 24, 2014

Billboard is out with a new report this weekend, claiming that it's learned why the Apple-Beats acquisition has not been announced yet. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet says that there are at least 5 things holding up the deal.

First, the buyout is 'complicated.' With this being Apple's largest purchase ever, the folks in Cupertino want to make sure they cross every t and dot every i. And second, the iPad-maker was nowhere near ready for details of the negotiations to leak...

New report says Apple-Beats deal was close to falling apart, but is still on

Cody Lee ∙ May 22, 2014

It's been two weeks since we first received word that Apple was looking to acquire Beats Electronics, and we still haven't heard a peep about the sale from either company. Some folks have taken the silence as a sign talks had broken down, but a new report says that's not the case.

According to TechCrunch, sources with knowledge of the deal say that Apple's planned multi-billion dollar acquisition of headphone maker Beats will go through. The outlet does note, however, that negotiations have been bumpy and close to falling apart on multiple occasions...

Spotify announces it now has 10 million paying subscribers, 40 million active users

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Spotify has announced that it's surpassed two new major milestones in recent weeks. The streaming service says that it now has more than 10 million paying subscribers and over 40 million active users, in 56 markets around the globe.

For context, Pandora said last month that its active user count for March was 75.3 million. It didn't say how many of those were paid accounts, but looking at its numbers from last year (2.5 million) Spotify may be close to passing it...

Steve Jobs biographer: Apple’s supposed Beats buy about video, not headphones and music

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2016

By now, everyone has already chimed in with their two cents on what Apple's rumored Beats buy might mean for Apple's reputation in music - even our own Cody Lee has summarized the more popular theories floating around out there.

It's commonly accepted that Beats Electronic, LCC. co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will be taking on senior roles at Apple after Beats buyout, with their grand introductions as Apple executives apparently set to take place at WWDC.

Bloomberg thinks Apple will keep Beats as a separate brand and improve its headphones design and another source speculated that the deal could lead to high-resolution music on iTunes.

But according to Steve Jobs's biographer Walter Isaacson, none of this is true as the deal is actually about video, not about headphones or streaming music...