Apple Announces $3 Billion Beats Acquisition, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre Joining the Company

[Chrisedge]

I have a few friends who've worked for Beats for a few years.

The common theme is that Iovine is an awful, awful boss. Apparently most employees are poorly/under paid with the reasoning from upper management being "you're lucky to work here." Two of my friends told similar stories of Iovine actually yelling at groups of employees (with more "adult" language included) things like this.

And now he's part of our family. Great.

Worst of all (for the sake of my friends), very few employees were ever offered compensation that included options or shares in the company. And now many longer-term employees will be laid off with zero compensation or severance package (seriously none). Because that's how Iovine does business.

Yikes.

Interesting because I have a friend that CURRENTLY works there and told me that there is no talk of laying anyone off. Now for the rest of your post, I don't know of anyone, at any company that ever rates their pay as "fair" or doesn't wish they made more money.

 

[Arndroid]

Not sure why they had to think about it for a long time. I've been streaming music on various services for years -- many years if we're counting Pandora. Apple could've started streaming their entire iTunes catalog and charging me $25 a month to stream as much as I wanted and I would've gladly paid that a year or two ago.

However, I'm now paying Spotify $5 a month for unlimited streaming on my Mac. I'm quite confident that Apple won't be willing to come close to that price so they had better offer a compelling reason for me to switch to their offering when it arrives and pay more. And no, Siri integration on the phone and "mood" playlists are not good enough reasons for me, personally, to switch.

You will be compelled when spotify has to charge you more because they don't make money.

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$300 is something a kid would usually get as a gift.. not just a 'i want that now'..

say 25million teens in america.. ~70,000 birthdays per day + an additional 20million chances on 1225 to make a sale..

——
the "tough/poorer neighbourhoods thats where I see most of the Beats" thing is anecdotal.. likewise-- i see beats' store in soho.. a block from apple's first nyc store.. i mostly see beats on subways and busses— on females (or maybe i just remember seeing the girls more often).

The most common place I see beats are on guys who make 10-20 million dollars a year.

 

[flat five]

He's a gangsta thug police hater and those are the facts.

nwa's #the police was around this time (before)

remember that? lapd.. same group of thugs nwa was speaking against.



you might not like how dre was saying it but that doesn't mean his views on police harassment & brutality were uncalled for..

 

[imageWIS]

How many successful businessmen were phds? People too busy in school to create a real business around an idea.

Ferdinand Porsche comes to mind... help found the 2n largest auto company in the world, including what is considered to be the pinnacle of German sports cars that bears his name.

Outliers applies to Phds as well.

In the USA, yes.

 

[AdonisSMU]

Ferdinand Porsche comes to mind... help found the 2n largest auto company in the world, including what is considered to be the pinnacle of German sports cars that bears his name.



In the USA, yes.

Phds don't really teach you what real world experience can teach you. That's why you don't see many who reach the top of the business ladder coming form the Phd world. They are much more likely to come from somewhere in the non graduate studies world.

 

[snailpost]

He's about outta touch as the people on Macrumors claiming only ghetto people buy Beats in ghetto area's they drive through. When in fact I see all sorts of different types of people wearing Beats head phones. Just like all sorts of people like buy Apple products. They still don't understand that the majority of hip hop purchasers are not from the ghetto and it has a universal appeal.

Do not twist my words dude. I never said "only" there.
I personally never mentioned anything about hip-hop etc. I was only referring to the high price of the product itself being targeted to youths which especially in europe are having a hard time to find a job.

 

[imageWIS]

Phds don't really teach you what real world experience can teach you. That's why you don't see many who reach the top of the business ladder coming form the Phd world. They are much more likely to come from somewhere in the non graduate studies world.

The modern financial system was set up by people with PhD's in math or physics. Please explain how the financial system isn't real world (this should be good). Also, unless an MBA or JD isn't considered as a graduate degree (hint: IT IS), most fortune 500 CEO's have at least one grad degree.

I mention in passing that Eric Schmidt has a PhD and Larry Page and Sergey Brin have MS's.

 

[s2mikey]

Phds don't really teach you what real world experience can teach you. That's why you don't see many who reach the top of the business ladder coming form the Phd world. They are much more likely to come from somewhere in the non graduate studies world.

Actually, most of the wealthy in this country had NOTHING to do with any college. They are dropouts or never bothered going. College simply teaches you how to pass tests and then hands you a sheet of paper after you pay them $200k or more. They teach NO ambition, NO work ethic, and NO real life skills. Just some fancy math and a bunch of liberal-slanted arts courses.

The Forbes list is filled mainly with go getters that realized college wasn't going to help them at all.

 

[Syk]

Which just exemplifies the fact Beats produce mediocre headphones with a massive branding markup. For the same consumers who think Bose cubes are the thing to buy when you could get better quality for the same price or the same quality for less from many other manufacturers.

Beats use the same marketing as Monster. Fill the shelves in the retail stores and ensure that the only thing you can buy is the item with the biggest profit margin.

or it could mean that Beats sounds just as good as the high end stuff.
I don't own any Beats. I like ATHM50's but my point was I bet most people are just repeating what they heard about Beats

 

[Intelligent]

It really is a smart move for Apple, two companies that have high prices and very hyped devices.

Another Apple hater on MacRumors. Why bother coming here to hate? ( You probably do other things, but still it is unnessecary to hate).

 

[mojolicious]

Another Apple hater on MacRumors. Why bother coming here to hate? ( You probably do other things, but still it is unnessecary to hate).

I've loved all things Apple since the IIfx – with a few exceptions such as pre-2004/post 2007 iMacs – and the comment "two companies that have high prices and very hyped devices" seems a perfectly valid viewpoint to me.

I think your definition of 'hate' needs some tweaking.

 

[Intelligent]

I've loved all things Apple since the IIfx – with a few exceptions such as pre-2004/post 2007 iMacs – and the comment "two companies that have high prices and very hyped devices" seems a perfectly valid viewpoint to me.

I think your definition of 'hate' needs some tweaking.

What was so wrong with the iMacs? I'm just asking because that is not unnecessary hate because you're allowed to have an opinion Just curious. I don't really think they are overpriced, I would rather pay 3000$ for a medium specs mac, than paying 1000$ for a high-end windows pc. And i don' think they are hyped, just look at all the popular internet sites in the world and you will see how much some people hate apple and mac.

 

[KeegM480]

Another Apple hater on MacRumors. Why bother coming here to hate? ( You probably do other things, but still it is unnessecary to hate).

I dont hate Apple, did you look at my signature haha? I own an iPad, a MacBook Pro, a PowerMac G5, an iMac G3, an iMac G4, and I have owned many iPhones and iPods. Far from an Apple hater

 

[steve333]

Exactly and that's why Tim Cook is the CEO of a company with over $100 billion in the bank and Dre is a multiplatinum recording artist/record producer who was smart enough to get Apple to buy his company for billions....while you're sitting here on your computer posting on internet forums.

How long did it take you to come with that clever reply?

 

[Trapezoid]

How long did it take you to come with that clever reply?

Wow total deflection.

 

[twigman08]

In all the other threads people complain about how the analysts don't know the future or anything.

Now those same people have turned into armchair analysts and think they know the future themselves.


I myself can't wait until some feature or something is announced that got here quicker than it would had if it wasn't for this acquisition. Then those same people will be saying "great move by Apple to get this technology or service out to the public!"

 

[Arndroid]

I dont hate Apple, did you look at my signature haha? I own an iPad, a MacBook Pro, a PowerMac G5, an iMac G3, an iMac G4, and I have owned many iPhones and iPods. Far from an Apple hater

I would be curious what you use all those devices for. Edumication does not seen to be a focus. Maybe you can go to hulu and watch some episodes of shark tank. It is unfortunate that people need to be advised to watch shark tank to just get the fundamentals of buying a business. However it is clear most people have no clue at all. It is like someone not knowing how to swim telling people who swim that moving your arms and legs in the water doesn't make sense. It is like someone who can't drive a car and also does not understand the driver needs to sit behind the steering wheel. People are just so far off on very basic knowledge. 95% of it is just common sense, it does not require any sort of specialized training or education. I don't even know how most people negotiate their own salary or the price of a car (well I do know, very poorly usually).

I really have been thrown by the hundreds of people here and on other websites who do not understand that a company making money (profit) means there is value there. At the most basic level it is the same thing as putting your money in an interest savings account, a cd or a 401k. You invest in those items because they earn you money. If you invest in a business that is profitable, it earns you money, just like a person does with their own money.

Yet over and over people say it is too much or doesn't make sense or it was a rip off. It is scary.

 

[Trapezoid]

I would be curious what you use all those devices for. Edumication does not seen to be a focus. Maybe you can go to hulu and watch some episodes of shark tank. It is unfortunate that people need to be advised to watch shark tank to just get the fundamentals of buying a business. However it is clear most people have no clue at all. It is like someone not knowing how to swim telling people who swim that moving your arms and legs in the water doesn't make sense. It is like someone who can't drive a car and also does not understand the driver needs to sit behind the steering wheel. People are just so far off on very basic knowledge. 95% of it is just common sense, it does not require any sort of specialized training or education. I don't even know how most people negotiate their own salary or the price of a car (well I do know, very poorly usually).

I really have been thrown by the hundreds of people here and on other websites who do not understand that a company making money (profit) means there is value there. At the most basic level it is the same thing as putting your money in an interest savings account, a cd or a 401k. You invest in those items because they earn you money. If you invest in a business that is profitable, it earns you money, just like a person does with their own money.

Yet over and over people say it is too much or doesn't make sense or it was a rip off. It is scary.

One of the best posts I've read on here, but you know what's sad? This post is just going to be buried in this thread full of whiners who are saying "it doesn't make sense", "beats sucks!!", "disclaimer: apple users are sheep!!" and "what was apple thinking??"

The reason apple did this is so friggin' obvious it's amazing that anyone with an IQ (any IQ...just an IQ that registers on whatever scale they use to measure IQs) can question it.

Beats makes money. Apple wants to continue to make money. There's nothing else behind it. This world is in a sad place when people can't understand such a simple concept.

 

[steve333]

So Apple is immune from making a mistake? Tim Cook is the Master of all CEOs-infallible.
I've read some analysts praising the move and some saying it was moronic.
Some of us fall into the camp thinking it was moronic, guess we'll have to wait and see

 

[Trapezoid]

So Apple is immune from making a mistake? Tim Cook is the Master of all CEOs-infallible.
I've read some analysts praising the move and some saying it was moronic.
Some of us fall into the camp thinking it was moronic, guess we'll have to wait and see

Did anyone say this?

 

[Azzin]

I'm thinking that WWDC will now go something like this:

 

[steve333]

Did anyone say this?

>The reason apple did this is so friggin' obvious it's amazing that anyone with an IQ (any IQ...just an IQ that registers on whatever scale they use to measure IQs) can question it.

Beats makes money. Apple wants to continue to make money. There's nothing else behind it. This world is in a sad place when people can't understand such a simple concept.<

I have an IQ that registers and I can question it

 

[Trapezoid]

>The reason apple did this is so friggin' obvious it's amazing that anyone with an IQ (any IQ...just an IQ that registers on whatever scale they use to measure IQs) can question it.

Beats makes money. Apple wants to continue to make money. There's nothing else behind it. This world is in a sad place when people can't understand such a simple concept.<

I have an IQ that registers and I can question it

Did anyone say apple doesn't make mistakes is what I was asking or are you inventing strawmen?

I didn't say you can't question it, I said it doesnt make sense to question, because there is no hidden ulterior motive as to why they did this. It's money.

Whether it's a mistake or not remains to be seen, but the people who are so baffled by this acquisition clearly can't grasp why any company would buy another.

I again assure you. It's money.

 

[steve333]

Did anyone say apple doesn't make mistakes is what I was asking or are you inventing strawmen?

I didn't say you can't question it, I said it doesnt make sense to question, because there is no hidden ulterior motive as to why they did this. It's money.

Whether it's a mistake or not remains to be seen, but the people who are so baffled by this acquisition clearly can't grasp why any company would buy another.

I again assure you. It's money.

It is, but we think they overpaid

 

[Trapezoid]

It is, but we think they overpaid

That's very different from questioning why they did it. I tend to agree with you that they may have paid more than they should have but I know why they did.

Again it could end up being a rousing failure, though.