Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
They do if they don't have the manpower to make it. People forget that Apple teams are really small. Time vs money, and they probably figure it's better to buy Beats now than continue to work on their own.
Apple in talks for $3.2bn Beats deal
- Thread starter Dawg
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Jimmy Iovine* is a big music producer? Perhaps Beats has better streaming deals with the record labels that apple can incorporate with their ITunes.
Kano on the Phone
Member
If only they'd known how easy it was, I guess.
it's a brand that's popular with Apple's target demographic and can easily be integrated into their existing business. It's not that weird.
MadJackChurchill
Banned
Regardless of what everyone on the internet says - the iPhone is the best phone I've ever had, and I've had HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony with multiple versions of Android.
Beats Solos, however, are the worst headphones I've heard at ANY price. They don't even sound serviceable.
Beats Solos, however, are the worst headphones I've heard at ANY price. They don't even sound serviceable.
Grover Cleveland
Member
Fuck a Detox, Dre about to eat
Ninja Scooter
Member
Hay guys Apple stuff is expensive also hipsters LOL
They are.
Yes we know.
Its actually anything but solid.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/21/5636704/beats-music-is-struggling
But ... yeah whatevs. If they wanted a streaming service they had much better choices than beats raggedy assed struggle service. They did this for the hardware/headphones. And those things are genuinely awful.
Devolution
Member
I bet if Beats made Fedoras with little speakers inside for playing symphonic Zelda music nerds would be all over it.
Would've preferred Rdio or Spotify, but sure.
Actual reviews of the product say it's generally good.
http://readwrite.com/2014/01/22/beats-music-review#awesm=~oDIe9cLVuVDgxM
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304757004579334600698782982
Actual reviews of the product say it's generally good.
http://readwrite.com/2014/01/22/beats-music-review#awesm=~oDIe9cLVuVDgxM
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304757004579334600698782982
Kano on the Phone
Member
I used it and it was a solid experience. I weirdly never took their subscriber numbers into account.
No highs no lows, it must be Bose. Its not just audiophiles. I'm no audiophile but I can tell you they're overpriced junk.
Apple is also a branding company. Part of the appeal is aluminum computers with machined edges. They even give you a nice sticker with your iPod to show how cool you are. You know those earbuds that hurt your ears and sound like shit but have the unmistakable white cord? They made a few commercials with it. Yeah I think Beats and Apple can be best buds.
Also Beats music is apparently bombing extremely hard. There is no reason for Apple to buy that portion of the company: http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/21/5636704/beats-music-is-struggling.
This is our bi-weekly shit on Apple thread, get into it!
Rastafarian42
Member
Bye-Bye Detox.
Why would you want Apple to buy Spotify? You're a bad person!
It's subscriber count doesn't matter, it has all the contracts and infrastructure set up for streaming music and has a unique pitch. They aren't buying them for their subscribers
RobotChant
Member
There was talk of Apple wanting/needing to expand their itunes services to competing platforms. Buying Beats, and keeping their streaming service multi-platform would be one way to do it. Then again I remember reading Beats streaming wasn't doing too well. If it's for the headphone/hardware business, any in house Apple gear would sell buckets and have cheaper start up costs.
MetalFearSolid
Banned
poor HTC. Didn't they sell back some shares as well, in order for the company to have more flexibility.
Kano on the Phone
Member
Does it really bother you that much that people like other things? I'm trying to understand your level of salt here.
If there was a "Samsung to buy Rhapsody!" thread I can't imagine I would enter a thread about two companies that aren't on my radar, let alone be so openly upset about it.
I feel like you're arguing someone who really just came into the thread to remind us how much he hates these things and wasn't really making a point.
I find it annoying that you focus on userbase and not the actual quality of the software. It is regarded as one of the best streaming services because of the curation and great music discvoery.
Sure but Apple is also an industrial design giant, and they do make excellent tech. I don't like iTunes, but I love their OSs.
$3.2bn is like a rounding error to Apple.
Kano on the Phone
Member
iTunes isn't a subscription streaming service.
Good question. I'm wondering this too.
If they cared about Audio quality they would have tried to buy AKG from Harman or try to buy Harman.
Mysterious
Banned
LOL so true.
I just always assumed iTunes Radio served the same purpose as Pandora, Spotify, etc.
Then again I barely use that stuff so I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
please no. stay away from sennheiser
Oppo
Member
My thoughts.
Snobby 80s Apple would have bought Sennheiser on principle
This feels sorta gross
And that's coming from an ancient mac head
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I don't like Beats. But launching as a Monster Cable product pretty much got me off to a bad start with them.
I was working commission sales when the first Beats released,and I saw exactly how its desirability was manufactured by the high commissions it gave salespeople and the celebrities paid to wear them in music videos.
I was working commission sales when the first Beats released,and I saw exactly how its desirability was manufactured by the high commissions it gave salespeople and the celebrities paid to wear them in music videos.
They have deals with artists for streaming, curating as well as timed exclusive releases on streaming... That's worth more than headphones
pretty smart move on Apple's part, and Dre just got paaaaaiiiiidddd
glad you finally found something you enjoy
i love all my sennheier's but i'll never understand the elitism amongst electronics enthusiasts
glad you finally found something you enjoy
i love all my sennheier's but i'll never understand the elitism amongst electronics enthusiasts
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
Apple's audio quality won't get worse with this purchase, and good quality products won't stop existing because this happened. Come on, everyone.
I don't care if you like it (though both companies' products are often used to as a type of culture or status symbol and therefore users might care if I care). I'm cheekily explaining that both are heavy marketing/design machines and their business models are similar.
Apple has fine software themselves, if they needed something else there's no shortage of decent companies that stream music and have a decent interface that would cost much, much less. That division of Beats is worth nothing.
Kano on the Phone
Member
It's like a Pandora station, but I can't just go listen to like The Downward Spiral at will if I want to like I can with a sub service.
JCreasy
Member
I dunno why, but I lol'd.
Yeah, that would be great though. Free up Dre to finally finish that.
Whether this make sense comes down to the deals Beats and Jimmy Iovine negotiated with the labels, which only Beats' lawyers know.
If the deals guarantee Beats Music can keep running after the acquisition, with no additional payouts to the labels or artists, for a certain number of years, then the purchase is literally a goldmine for Apple.
It would mean Apple would get to launch a Spotify competitor paying stream rates closer to what Spotify and Rdio negotiated as startups with equity deals with the labels, and not what Google and Microsoft negotiated at the left end of the chart. And Apple's Spotify competitor, unlike Beats Music, would have instant insane distribution with credit card numbers already on file.
If the deals guarantee Beats Music can keep running after the acquisition, with no additional payouts to the labels or artists, for a certain number of years, then the purchase is literally a goldmine for Apple.
It would mean Apple would get to launch a Spotify competitor paying stream rates closer to what Spotify and Rdio negotiated as startups with equity deals with the labels, and not what Google and Microsoft negotiated at the left end of the chart. And Apple's Spotify competitor, unlike Beats Music, would have instant insane distribution with credit card numbers already on file.
FloatingDivider
Member
Now your ipod will come with shitty bass boost EQ settings and even shittier earbuds? Sounds great.
When I think of what Apple software people love most, "iTunes" is definitely not the first thing that comes to mind!
The problem with it, is that it doesn't service the massive amount of people using Android phones and to a lesser extent Windows Phone. Those OS's aren't going away, that much is clear now. So you either find a way to offer a cross platform option the way Google and MS do for a lot of their services, or you resign yourself to a ever smaller portion of the overall world userbase.
If they just flat out ported iTunes to WP8 or something there would be a shitload of laughs, not because it wasn't smart, but because it would definitely be seen as ceding that these operating systems they barely even like to recognize as competitors are actually relevant. This way though, you buy a name, and a service and since its already cross platform, you just leave it that way, and try to make it popular.
Even if it was guaranteed for the next decade, and they got rates lower than Amazon, calling it a goldmine is a massive massive MASSIVE overstatement. It would save/make them some money, but a goldmine? No.
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