Apple's Acquisition of Beats Met with Skepticism, but Jimmy Iovine May Be Key

Since the Financial Times broke the news yesterday, numerous publications are now claiming Apple is in the final stages of acquiring Beats Electronics, a headphone company and streaming music service created by hip hop star Dr. Dre and music industry veteran Jimmy Iovine. The response to the news is mixed, with some experts offering compelling reasons for the deal and other pundits questioning Apple's rationale in pursuing what would be its biggest acquisition to date.

Iovine has strong ties to the music industry and a long history of working with Apple, having met with Steve Jobs to discuss a subscription music service in 2003 and more recently in talks with Apple's Tim Cook and Eddy Cue about the Beats Music service before it launched earlier this year. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Iovine credits Apple as his inspiration for the idea of the Beats brand.

"The idea of Beats...to be very frank, I got from Apple," he said, noting the "uniqueness of their blending of technology with popular culture."

If the acquisition proceeds, Iovine may join Apple as a "special adviser" to Tim Cook on creative matters. Iovine would bring to Apple his knowledge of the music business as evidenced in a AllThingsD interview from last year embedded below, and his insider influence that Wall Street Journal sources predict could be used to boost advertising on Apple's existing iTunes Radio.


Apple also would acquire Beats' successful consumer electronics business selling high-margin headphones and its newly launched music streaming service. Apple could bring the Beats hardware brand under the guidance of Jony Ive and use it to create new music product lines and add new channels to sell Apple's products, suggests Re/code. The Beats music service is likely a longer-term investment, allowing Apple to accelerate any plans to offer a streaming music service for its iTunes customers, which number in the hundreds of millions.

Analysts, however, are meeting the news of the high-priced acquisition with both contempt and confusion, noting that such an acquisition is out of character for the Cupertino company. One of the first to weigh in on the deal was Gene Munster, who called the acquisition a "bad idea" in an investor note.

We are struggling to see the rationale behind this move. Beats would of course bring a world class brand in music to Apple, but Apple already has a world class brand and has never acquired a brand for a brand's sake (i.e., there are no non-Apple sub-brands under the company umbrella). Separately, we are not aware of any intellectual property within Beats that would drive the acquisition justification beyond the brand.

Apple pundit John Gruber of Daring Fireball was equally skeptical of the deal, saying "I don’t get it."

On the surface, this doesn’t make any sense to me. I can’t see Apple keeping the “Beats” brand around for headphones. If Apple wanted to sell expensive high-end headphones, they don’t need to spend $3 billion. The Beats streaming service is interesting, but can’t Apple do that on its own, as an expansion of the iTunes Music Store and iTunes Radio?

According to the original Financial Times report, Apple's acquisition of Beats could be announced as soon as next week. Negotiations are still ongoing with some final details yet to be ironed out, allowing for the possibility that "talks could still fall apart."

Top Rated Comments

DrFu79 Avatar
116 months ago
If true, this literally has to be the worst acquisitition i can think of.

I hate Beats with a passion - all style, no substance.

As a longtime (20+Years) Apple user, I don't want this kind of philosophy (further?) taking over Apple - all about fashion and brand. Angela Ahrends, Beats etc.

Just make a damn good product and it sells itself by merit. Stop the fluff.

Kids get off my lawn. I know.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0xyMoron Avatar
116 months ago
Really why should a company worth billions of dollars acquire another company before consulting MR forum posters first?
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
touchipods Avatar
116 months ago
Wow, Steve Jobs would have never let this happen.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdridwan47 Avatar
116 months ago
Overpriced meets overpriced.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nzalog Avatar
116 months ago
Google buys Nest and Apple buys Beats. What has the world come to? Embarrassed as an Apple user. :(
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bishopstory Avatar
116 months ago
Please guys stop the Friday morning CEOing!


Take a look at Jimmie Iovine's Wikipedia page, he is the Chairman and co-founder or Interscope Records (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interscope_Records) and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A & M (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interscope_Geffen_A%26M) which is part of the Universal Music Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Music_Group) which is the largest music corporation in the World . Also scroll down to the complete Iovine discography.

Spot on dude.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Leak Reveals Unified Volume Button and Mute Button

Monday March 20, 2023 8:33 am PDT by
As previously rumored, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume button and a mute button, according to leaked CAD images shared in a video on the Chinese version of TikTok and posted to Twitter by ShrimpApplePro. Instead of separate buttons for volume up and volume down, the iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have a single elongated button for...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
iPhone 15 Pro Mock Feature Buttonless

iPhone 15 Pro Max to 'Break Record' for Thinnest Bezels on a Smartphone

Friday March 17, 2023 2:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the thinnest bezels of any smartphone, beating the record currently held by the Xiaomi 13. That's according to the leaker known as "Ice Universe," who has divulged accurate information about Apple's plans in the past. Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, potentially resulting in an Apple...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Launching This Year With These 11 New Features

Monday March 13, 2023 6:47 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 lineup is around six months away, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes are expected for the iPhone 15 Pro models in particular, including a titanium frame and more. Below, we have recapped 11 features rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A17...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...