Following the completion of Apple's Beats acquisition today, the Wall Street Journal reports on a major position appointment for the two companies. Apparently, Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers (left) has been assigned to lead Apple's iTunes Radio team.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, the outlet says that Rogers will head up both streaming services at the company. He's been tasked with creating cohesion between the two offerings, to better compete with services like Pandora and Spotify...
It's been just over 2 months since Apple announced that it would be acquiring Beats Electronics for $3 billion. And although the deal wasn't expected to be completed until September, the Cupertino company is clearly ready to officially welcome Beats to the family.
Apple this morning posted a link on the homepage of its website to a new portal called 'Welcome Beats,' which features a brief message about the merger. Likewise, a message has been posted on Beats' homepage regarding the acquisition and upcoming changes...
Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats Music, a music-streaming service, and Beats Electronics, a highly lucrative premium headphone business, is nearing its completion.
Monday, the European Commission okayed the deal, saying it won't stifle competition in Europe.
Though still pending regulatory approval in the United States, Apple is expecting to complete the purchase by the end of September.
Analyzing the inner workings of the Cupertino firm in the wake of the Beats acquisition, a reputable publication has shed more light on the transition phase and behind-the-scenes moves...
Beats Music, a music-streaming service that uses a combination of algorithms and good ol' human curation to make it easy to enjoy music based on your location, activities and other criteria, has just been updated with several new features.
The free iPhone and iPad app, now sitting at version 2.2, has brought out the ability to further tailor music to your tastes by changing your favorite genres and artists.
And, folks can now view their most recently played songs from The Sentence. Also, avoiding fake profiles is easier than ever because the app now has verified profiles - just look for a new red checkmark indicating a profile has been "certified as legit by Beats"...
Looks like Tim Cook wasn't joking when he told The Financial Times Apple would keep alive Beats Music apps for Android and Windows Phone platforms. Keep in mind that Cook made that promise after Apple snapped up Beats' streaming-music service, headphones, brand and talent in a $3 billion transaction.
Indeed, Beats has now issued an update to its Android client, the first refresh post-acquisition. But that's not all: it seems Beats will continue to feature Samsung endorser and Miami Heat cager LeBron James in future advertising...
On the heels of its eyebrow-raising $3 billion deal with Apple, the Beats Music subscription service has recently dropped its annual membership from $119.88 to $99 per year, or $9.99 per month, making itself more competitive with Spotify and the like.
If you'd rather not use your credit card (or carrier billing) for recurring payments, the service now allows you to apply promotional codes provided on the physical Beats Music cards, carried exclusively by Target and offered in several denominations.
And conveniently enough, Target is currently offering 25 percent off Beats Music $50 and $25 gift cards, resulting in respective savings of $12.5 and $6.25...
The Wall Street Journal has written a profile on Beats co-founder Dr. Dre titled "Apple's New Beat: What Steve Jobs and Dr. Dre have in Common." That headline may sound blasphemous to die-hard Apple fans, but the comparisons they draw are interesting.
Though Jimmy Iovine has done most of the talking since Apple acquired his Beats Electronics last month, Dr. Dre played an equally important role in the company's success. He's a workaholic and a perfectionist, with a disdain for deadlines and marketing research...
Apple didn't make much mention of its $3 billion Beats acquisition at WWDC yesterday, but it didn't really have to. Since the news broke in early May, the storyline has pretty much dominated much of the tech-related news cycle.
And it seems to be having a positive impact on Apple's image. According to a new survey by education technology company Chegg, which involved the polling of 10,000 students, the acquisition will make the iPad-maker more 'cool.'
If you haven't been following the latest news, it is a prerequisite to know that Apple has acquired Beats for $3 billion before reading further. The announcement has created a lot of confusion in regards to what the acquisition means for Beats and existing partnerships with the brand. Just to be clear, Beats collectively refers to both Beats Electronics, which markets high-end headphones, speakers and audio software, and the streaming music service Beats Music.
Prior to being acquired, Beats had several partnerships with other brands, including companies that are direct competitors with Apple. Most notable is Hewlett-Packard, which uses Beats Audio branding and technologies in its product lineup. AT&T has an exclusive deal with Beats Music to sell subscriptions and an unlimited music downloading family plan, and design firm Ammunition has a partnership to create Beats products. Even HTC has been in the mix.
Read ahead to find out how the Apple-Beats deal affects all of these deals…
Having originally anticipated sending its online services and software engineering chiefs, Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi, to speak at Recode.net's Recode Conference, Apple's changed its mind after announcing the $3 billion Beats buy and has opted to dispatch Beats co-founder and music mogul Jimmy Iovine instead of Craig.
My colleague Cody has published several articles covering the two men's appearance at the conference. Based on a couple video snippets Recode published earlier this week, we've heard that Apple’s best product pipeline in 25 years is coming later in 2014, learned about the latest iTunes stats and gotten amused by Eddy Cue's opinion on the current state of TV (in short, it "sucks").
The interview is now available for streaming straight from Recode and I've included the full video for your viewing pleasure right after the break...
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...
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…