Google also bought Motorola.
Apple in talks for $3.2bn Beats deal
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Google also bought Motorola.
ProfessorX
Unconfirmed Member
Interesting.
I wonder if 3.2b is actually 2x yearly earnings for Beats.
I wonder if 3.2b is actually 2x yearly earnings for Beats.
Ken Masters
Banned
Dr. Dre
First rap billionaire
First rap billionaire
rudieboy77
Member
Aren't Beats just over hyped product? I guess though anything is better than the headphones that came with an IPod.
ProfessorX
Unconfirmed Member
2011 revenue was $350m according to Wikipedia.
Looks like it.
July 2013:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3015051/...cs-may-be-on-track-to-hit-14b-in-2013-revenue
September 2013:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/27/dr-dre-beats-1bn-carlyle-sale
It's not a publicly traded company so it's difficult to get exact numbers.
badcrumble
Member
Beats doesn't really have good audio hardware engineers (Apple's got better ones - they both have poor audio quality but at least Apple's got people who are absolutely great at miniaturization).
This is partly about the brand (headphones-as-fashion) but mostly about the streaming service (not for rights, of course - those usually need to be renegotiated upon purchase, which is why people can't just buy Netflix and have their own video streaming service overnight) - Beats Music has good music curation, though, and probably has people attached who are much better at negotiating deals with the music industry. This might be an extremely expensive acquihire, basically.
This is partly about the brand (headphones-as-fashion) but mostly about the streaming service (not for rights, of course - those usually need to be renegotiated upon purchase, which is why people can't just buy Netflix and have their own video streaming service overnight) - Beats Music has good music curation, though, and probably has people attached who are much better at negotiating deals with the music industry. This might be an extremely expensive acquihire, basically.
Barkley's Justice
Member
This is probably more of a play for the streaming music service. And will likely lead to Apple's Spotify competitor on Android, Xbox, etc
Just_myles
Member
I would cash out. Then again, apple even thinking of buying beats means that apple doesn't know how to run a music streaming business outside of a radio service. The may buy it, and keep it branded as such. Better to buy the competition than actually, you know, compete.
I would hope they keep it afloat. At least for the employees sake, their curation stuff is real cool and would be a waste.
I would hope they keep it afloat. At least for the employees sake, their curation stuff is real cool and would be a waste.
ProfessorX
Unconfirmed Member
Wow. That's major growth. Apple's possible interest in this acquisition makes a lot of sense.
CosmicGroinPull
Member
Welp! I'm off the IOS train then! Don't want to see "Audio by BEATS" on my Iphone 6.
Kano on the Phone
Member
They have an existing app and an existing business and a valuable name. Not to mention that it's a strong presumption to think that none of the rights will transfer.
LOL. This is my new favorite post in this thread. Holy shit.
Ballin' like crazy after this deal.
Mofo will smell like the vault moreso than fitty.
CosmicGroinPull
Member
MisterNoisy
Member
This is a perfect pairing, though $3.2bn seems a bit high.
The Beats brand is a very young and somewhat established lifestyle brand so it kind of makes sense. I have used the Beats tour in ear headphones, given that I love bassy music they were great for that. Also the headphone cable on the stock EarPods tangle way too easily, the beats cable were a little more rigid and didn't seem to have that problem. If the deal goes through I would like to see what happens to beats.
HUELEN10
Member
CassidyIzABeast
Member
Detox might get pushed back. Was so close to release too.
Atraveller
Banned
why
why
why
-Pyromaniac-
Member
I wonder if Tim Cook will be featured on detox now.
Tim "the" Cook.
Raitosaito
Member
Apple's shit is actually good...
Why go with Beats?
Why go with Beats?
HUELEN10
Member
Name a single bad Beats product.
No, not garish, not overpriced, not not best in the world, just bad. name one.
They aren't bad. I wouldn't buy thier overpriced product, but to call it bad is foolish.
fluffydelusions
Member
Never used them personally but everyone here says the same thing
FairXchange
Member
I wonder if this offer has less to do with headphones and more to do with the music curation software that Iovine had been talking about being on the horizon.
HUELEN10
Member
I truly believe it is a bit of everything. I could totally see them pushing out a new iPod Hi-Fi for this decade with built-in iTunes Radio, Airplay, and/or bluetooth.
Badlucktroll
Member
What the hell does Tim Cook want with Beats? Apple should buy a national retailer like Barnes and Noble, or Best Buy! This is a RADICAL departure from Apple during the Jobs era. Jobs didnt want to buy anything!
Ninja Scooter
Member
The mass market is not made up of audiophiles. For most people they are good enough and the branding and trendiness of them puts it over the top.
They are overpriced for sure, but they sounds fine, very comfortable and people think they look good (I don't treat headphone as a fashion accessory so I really have no opinion on that last point).
If you ignore the price, they're one of the better options in your radio shack like stores (where most people buy their headphones), that's why they're popular.
Their very effective ad campaign didn't hurt either.
I don't own a pair, I don't plan to do so any time in the future and again, there are better and cheaper options out there, but people need to stop treating them like they have the sound quality of the original ipod headphones.
1. They look cool
2. You see Lebron, Kobe, Bieber and every celebrity on the planet wearing them
That's all you need. They sound good enough.
I understand the sentiment. The last car I bought had the "upgraded" Bose stereo in it. Kind of pisses me off, the stereo sound like shit and has Bose all over the speakers and head unit. Tacky.
Apple loves to brand specs though (retina) so if this is true I would expect "audio by beats" somewhere. Anything has got to be better than the included earbuds though.
victreeb3l
Member
Dre is gonna buy the Clippers with the Beats money
Apple trying to add to it's line of trash audio equipment. Wish they would have bought someone who'd be able to pack in a decent set of IEMs or something with their phones and MP3 players.
They are priced in a certain category that sets expectations for what you're getting. They're straight up bad high mid-range cans. I guess if you want to call them good overpriced low end headphones, that'd be a unique way of looking at things.
They are priced in a certain category that sets expectations for what you're getting. They're straight up bad high mid-range cans. I guess if you want to call them good overpriced low end headphones, that'd be a unique way of looking at things.
Looks like a little under 25%.
If this actually happens I don't think Apple really cares that much about Beats headphones. They want the Beats music subscription service and that industry ties that Jimmy Iovine has.
The only strange thing is that Apple should have been able to create a competing service without purchasing Beats. They are a much bigger company with more resources and have been dealing with record labels for more than a decade. You would think they would have made some industry connections.
The only strange thing is that Apple should have been able to create a competing service without purchasing Beats. They are a much bigger company with more resources and have been dealing with record labels for more than a decade. You would think they would have made some industry connections.
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