Apple Impressed by Beats' Ability to Attract Paid Subscribers, Likely to Keep Brand Separate

[trife]

Those particular lyrics may not be homophobic, but have you ever heard "**** with Dre"?

I personally don't give a damn about his lyrics, I like him as an artist and a business man and support him even though his Beat's products are a little whack IMO.

Assuming this deal goes through as rumored, Dr Dre wouldn't be "some apple affiliated musician", he would be a taking on a senior management role, much like Brendan Eike's senior management role. The main difference being Brendan Eike never assaulted a woman and bragged about it:

"People talk all this ****, but you know, somebody **** with me, I'm gonna **** with them. I just did it, you know. Ain't nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain't no big thing-- I just threw her through a door." - Dr. Dre

I'm just pointing out the deafening hypocrisy, is all

Again, stuff in the past happens. That doesn't excuse it at all and he is 100% to blame for his actions, but I think he's shown he's grown out of that era of Dr. Dre. People change, and often for the better. Dre is an example of that. Hell, Steve Jobs himself is an example of that. From illegal drug use and fostering illegitimate children to tech god. And I have no problem with that--again, people change.

Bottomline: why are we bringing up rap lyrics and assault charges from 10-20 years ago? What does that have to do with Dr. Dre in 2014?

 

[HenryDJP]

I'd LOL so hard!

Especially if Dr. Dre knew damn well Apple weren't in negotiations with Beats. And so him and his mates/Tyreese posted that video just to build up some hype - I mean, I'm sure his record sales have seen a blip this week .

That would be some great marketing by the Dre right there!

RTP.

Well to be frank, neither Tyrese nor Dr. Dre mentioned Apple's name in that video, unless I missed something. It's possible it was just a hyped rumor but I doubt it. It's been all over CNBC's stock market shows.

 

[MH01]

Are you actually saying that Apple earbuds deliver decent audio quality?

Nope.

 

[alFR]

No official confirmation (that video doesn't count, could easily be a prank), almost a week since first surfacing of the rumour and uncertain justification for purchase (and lack of precedent - Apple has never yet bought another brand and kept it as a separate entity) = probably BS IMHO. I guess we'll see eventually...

 

[MH01]

I think the OP was saying that Apple could make them look better. Of course, they don’t look bad now, but that makes a little more sense than suggesting Apple’s headphones are for audiophiles.

With the looks I agree.

Sound Quality :

If you have two reference points, Apple/Beats is near one........ and a very very very very long distance away........ Audiophiles is at the other.

 

[fmaxwell]

All you undercover (and also overt) bigots can still kick rocks though.

It's got nothing to do with bigotry. I like the AKG Q 701 Quincy Jones signature headphones -- because they are high-quality, accurate, revealing headphones. I don't care that Quincy Jones is black.

It is only natural for people who love and respect music to hate the Beats by Dre brand. Every sale of their boomy, sloppy, muffled headphones is a potential lost sale for fine manufacturers like Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Grado Labs, and AKG; all of whom strive to produce accurate, revealing headphones at a wide range of price points.

 

[bighype]

"We can't innovate anymore... let's just buy the first thing that celebrities endorse."

-Tim

Google buys advanced AI and robotics, Facebook buys AI and communications… and Apple buys fashion accessories for urban kids.

Apple Maps still suck, Siri is still a gimmick and yet Apple spend billions on BS instead of on improving these core products.

Tim Cook's an idiot. He's the next Ballmer.

 

[WinstonRumfoord]

Bottomline: why are we bringing up rap lyrics and assault charges from 10-20 years ago? What does that have to do with Dr. Dre in 2014?

You are entirely missing my point...

 

[jonnyb098]

Firefox/John Q Public effectively ousted it's CEO for donating $500 to a cause against gay marriage.

I wonder what Apple, a historically progressive company will do about Dr. Dre making millions glorifying homophobia and misogyny?

"Long as my mother****ing pockets was fat
I didn't give a **** where the bitch was at
But she was hangin' with a white bitch doin' the **** she do
Suckin' on his dick just to get a buck or two"

Just food for thought...

Good point. Heres a visual that I actually saw a couple weeks ago. Some kid turning the corner in a Mercedes (douche sign #1) wearing giant beats cans (douche sign #2).

 

[RoccoFan]

I can see the next iPhone launch now...

Tim Cook: So Dre.

Dr. Dre: What up Dogg?

Tim Cook: We gotta give 'em what dey want

Dr. Dre: What's that, G?

Tim Cook: We gotta break 'em off somethin'

Dr. Dre: Hell yeah

Tim Cook: And it's gotta be bumpin'

 

[cleirac]

Beats headphone is for the new generations Music bass loving market and not the audiophile market. That is what Apple needs to revolutionize. Different models for different markets. Next up: B&W and/or Sennheiser.

 

[Zerilos]

Google buys advanced AI and robotics, Facebook buys AI and communications… and Apple buys fashion accessories for urban kids.

Apple Maps still suck, Siri is still a gimmick and yet Apple spend billions on BS instead of on improving these core products.

Tim Cook's an idiot. He's the next Ballmer.

Apple purchases tech firms on a monthly basis. Acting like a potential acquisition of Beats is the sum of Apple tech research is dishonest. I do agree that Siri is still a huge disappointment, but I slightly prefer Apple Maps to Google Maps (but both are about identical to my experience).

 

[winston1236]

Someone please answer me this..
Spotify's Market Cap is around the 4.5$ billion mark

Apple are buying beats for 3.2$b

Why exactly are they pursuing Beats Music - if Spotify has already established itself?

Just for the hardware?! I understand Irvine and Dre are two they are keen to add onto the board. Otherwise it appears as they are just willing to gobble down the headphone section into their product line..?

Weird I agree, Spotify will only grow bigger while Beats will always be a teenagers preferred brand.

 

[cleirac]

Google buys advanced AI and robotics, Facebook buys AI and communications… and Apple buys fashion accessories for urban kids.

Apple Maps still suck, Siri is still a gimmick and yet Apple spend billions on BS instead of on improving these core products.

Tim Cook's an idiot. He's the next Ballmer.

Then Ballmer bought Nokia. Google bought YouTube, Facebook bought Instagram first, everybody scratched their heads.

Beats? There is a lot of things Apple can do with it! It will be the first among many acquisitions.

 

[Zerilos]

Firefox/John Q Public effectively ousted it's CEO for donating $500 to a cause against gay marriage.

I wonder what Apple, a historically progressive company will do about Dr. Dre making millions glorifying homophobia and misogyny?

"Long as my mother****ing pockets was fat
I didn't give a **** where the bitch was at
But she was hangin' with a white bitch doin' the **** she do
Suckin' on his dick just to get a buck or two"

Just food for thought...

I certainly don't think what happened to Brendan Eich should influence whether or not Apple invests in future media companies. For what it's worth, I think what happened to Eich was a travesty and disturbing at best... and I support marriage equality.

 

[Amerrican]

Dealmaker - Tomlinson Holman

This deal is the brainchild of Tomlinson Holman, the inventor of THX sound and a direct hire by Steve Jobs himself.

Holman has been a big supporter of Iovine. Holman's the technical guru behind major audio upgrades at Apple, and this is going to be his first big score.

 

[Geminist]

Then Ballmer bought Nokia. Google bought YouTube, Facebook bought Instagram first, everybody scratched their heads.

Beats? There is a lot of things Apple can do with it! It will be the first among many acquisitions.

In fairness, I'm still scratching my head to this day with Instagram and Nokia (all thanks to the trojan horse called Elop who ruined Nokia)

 

[Nevaborn]

Beats bringing some audio background for Macs or iphones is good, and Jony will redesign the headphones. There is promise here, but for the price there needs to be.

As for those saying about Tim buy invention...that is fine... he is a CEO that is what he does... hire smart people and companies to make great products and make his company more successful ...he is doing a good job.

 

[Zerilos]

Weird I agree, Spotify will only grow bigger while Beats will always be a teenagers preferred brand.

In your opinion at least. Not saying you're wrong, but at the moment you're just stating your opinion.

 

[cleirac]

Apple purchases tech firms on a monthly basis. Acting like a potential acquisition of Beats is the sum of Apple tech research is dishonest. I do agree that Siri is still a huge disappointment, but I slightly prefer Apple Maps to Google Maps (but both are about identical to my experience).

$3.2 might be a lot of money now but in the grand scheme of things, not a lot of money for Apple to lose. Apple's Beats acquisition is a bold move, not unlike Google and Facebook's buying YouTube and Instagram, in the case of Apple, I am pretty sure it is not just for the promising music stream, popular headphones alone and market of Beats that Apple lacks or wants to grab as well. It will be something that will be announced in the future for sure.

 

[WinstonRumfoord]

I certainly don't think what happened to Brendan Eich should influence whether or not Apple invests in future media companies. For what it's worth, I think what happened to Eich was a travesty and disturbing at best... and I support marriage equality.

Coudn't agree more, on all points.

Judge not lest you be judged, stones in glass houses, etc

 

[PatriotInvasion]

Someone please answer me this..
Spotify's Market Cap is around the 4.5$ billion mark

Apple are buying beats for 3.2$b

Why exactly are they pursuing Beats Music - if Spotify has already established itself?

Just for the hardware?! I understand Irvine and Dre are two they are keen to add onto the board. Otherwise it appears as they are just willing to gobble down the headphone section into their product line..?

1.) Spotify is a Swedish company doing business out of Europe. Beats is American made with a high margin hardware business that has fashion appeal and fits in nicely with music consumption.

2.) I believe there are contractual issues with the record companies where Spotify's rights don't transfer to an acquiring company whereas Beats' do.

 

[Ventilatedbrain]

You do realize those lyrics were about Eazy-E (a man), right?

And how are those lyrics glorifying homophobia?

Oh, and that song came out in 1992. Not saying that excuses the misogyny, but I'm almost positive that some other Apple-affiliated musician, artist, etc. has said sketchy things within the last 2 decades. Stop acting like everyone else associated with Apple has squeaky clean pasts, or that they've never said stuff that in retrospect is wrong.

Thank you for being educated , I think it's also safe to say that dr dre had some problems dating back to nwa and death row records days when people claimed he was gay, he might take this chance to actually come out

 

[Jambalaya]

Obviously I am not their (Beats/Spotify) target market, why would I pay $120 a year for subscription internet radio when I can listen the actual radio for free with many stations to chose from.

 

[jonblatho]

Why exactly are they pursuing Beats Music - if Spotify has already established itself?

Why exactly did Apple pursue iPod if Walkman had already established itself?