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"...
The European Commission has okayed Apple's purchase of the Beats Music streaming-music service and Beats Electronics' premium headphone business, concluding that the agreement would not be detrimental to consumers across Europe. This is an important though expected development as Apple hopes to complete the $3 billion transaction by the end of the September quarter, pending regulatory approval in the United States...
As Apple is prepping to shell out $3 billion to buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics' high-end headphone biz, reports are coming in that audio equipment specialist Bose has gone on the offense and is now taking Beats Electronics to court over its noise-cancelling headphone patents.
Bose alleges its patented tech is used in the Beats Pro noise-cancelling headphones and other products like the Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless.
Furthermore, Bose is now seeking financial damages and a sales ban on some Beats headphones, claiming patent infringement. Bose develops, markets and sells a vast range of loudspeakers, noise-cancelling headsets, automotive sound systems, amplifiers and headphones.
Needless to say, Bose holds a number of patents in this space. Its QuietComfort line of headphones has in particular proven itself popular with consumers who want to get away from outside noise. And just like Beats, Bose gets frequently criticized as some reviewers slam their high-end products for being overpriced and of average quality...
Watching this epic Beats ad featuring several high-profile football stars, you would've thought that Apple's newly-acquired headphone line was going to be a staple at this year's World Cup, but that hasn't been the case at all. The iconic accessory has been noticeably absent from players' necks since the tournament began last week.
And apparently Sony is behind the anomaly. The company's licensing agreement with FIFA, the governing body behind the World Cup, says that players can't 'advertise' rival hardware at games or media events...
After posting a five-minute World Cup commercial - basically an ode to soccer, its headphones and the iPhone 5s - Beats on Monday released a shorter version of the "The Game Before The Game" ad.
Titled "Jay Z + Beats by Dre Jungle Remix", it features a remix of "Jungle", a song born out of the collaboration between Jay Z, X Ambassadaros and Jamie N Commons. Check it out after the break and tell us what you think in the comments...
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...
According to two Apple sources familiar with the development of iTunes Radio, current limitations of the free service and the $3 billion acquisition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre's Beats talent, brand, headphone business and streaming service is all the result of the firm's "arrogance" and shortsightedness of its managers.
Worse, some high-ranked members of Apple's music teams reportedly didn’t even know that Spotify was an on-demand streaming service and not an Internet radio service akin to Pandora and iTunes Radio...