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

[cleirac]

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.

Apple will not force you to subscribe and pay. You are not their target. Obviously, those who (will) love Beats' uniqueness vs. other free/not free streaming services and probably with future additional Apple touch is Apple's target. It is not just about the number of subscriptions, it is also about the market who subscribe and still pay download music.

Beats without Apple is purely for teenagers. With Apple's touch, it will be ready to compete vs. Pandora and Spotify. It is all about the merging of their existing technologies and current fan bases / demographics / markets.

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

Why exactly Apple pursue or not gave up on Mac if PC and Windows already established themselves?

 

[cmChimera]

If that is true, then can we expect iTunes Radio to go away?

Why? I think they should keep it. Ad supported radio, downloads, and a subscription service. All bases covered.

 

[osofast240sx]

All I consider is the Dr. Dre headphone are headphones with a equalizer built in the increase base and take out midrange. The only thing the Beats Headphones are good for is base heavy rap music. Something like Ska or string instrumentss music and it sounds terrible.

I have to think Apple is really after the rap music crowd and the record labels Dre has has ties with to capture rap music lovers, along with some streaming tech and streaming patents.

There hasn't been a huge amount of revenues coming from rap music in a very long time. I can assure you that Apple is not after this crowd

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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.

You have to actually use the app to understand you get a seven day free trial.

 

[fmaxwell]

99% of people are not audiophiles,

Then they should not be spending Beats by Dre levels of money on headphones. Give $60 to Sennheiser and get something that outperforms the Beats.

and even you probably can't tell much difference in the test you posted, except for the obvious bass emphasis in the beats.

Bull-fecal-matter. If you can't hear a big difference between Beats and quality headphones, then go to an audiologist and get your hearing checked.

You do not seem to understand what decibels (dB) are. The decibel scale is logarithmic. Something that is -3dB down is half as loud at that point, -6dB is 1/4th as loud, -9dB is 1/8th as loud, and so on.

They're just consumer headphones, if you need a scientific chart to prove why something is better you already lost.

What was I supposed to do? Hold them up to my telephone and call you?

So I'll prove it with quotes from the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Solo review by Inner Fidelity (owned by the same company that owns Stereophile and Sound and Vision magazines).

To My Ears They Sound Wretched!
Seriously … what are Monster and Dr. Dre thinking?
...
sounds like being beaten to death inside a cardboard box. I experienced the coloration of the bass as extreme. I’ve heard one-note bass before, but on the Solo I had a hard time making out any particular notes at all.

The bass doesn’t appear to be the only problem in the measured data. The mid-range is a roller coaster of coloration, and the highs have all but gone missing to my ears.
...
In this case, I am very sad because it seems to me people are not getting the experience they could for $200.
...
Summary
Quote from Monster website:
“Life’s too short to listen to bad headphones.”

Indeed. I definitely do not recommended the Solo.

 

[viacavour]

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.

Steve Ballmer would have tried to build everything from scratch on his favorite OS. Or they'd acquire immature tech like WebTV ... like everyone else.

Cook's move is a lot more deep as usual.

They have already acquired a few companies for Maps and Siri. It will take time to build up and refine the data though. Doing a deal to complement iTunes is to be expected.

 

[trife]

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.

Umm, clearly I wasn't referring to you.

 

[viacavour]

Then they should not be spending Beats by Dre levels of money on headphones. Give $60 to Sennheiser and get something that outperforms the Beats.



Bull-fecal-matter. If you can't hear a big difference between Beats and quality headphones, then go to an audiologist and get your hearing checked.

You do not seem to understand what decibels (dB) are. The decibel scale is logarithmic. Something that is -3dB down is half as loud at that point, -6dB is 1/4th as loud, -9dB is 1/8th as loud, and so on.



What was I supposed to do? Hold them up to my telephone and call you?

So I'll prove it with quotes from the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Solo review by Inner Fidelity (owned by the same company that owns Stereophile and Sound and Vision magazines).

That's the old headphone. The newer one has been reviewed favorably.

Also, people may need a bass heavy headphone for gaming and movies, plus specific music genera these days.

Apple can always introduce a neutral set of headphone under their Apple brand if it's worthwhile. I am guessing they will just leave that segment for the niche, audiophile users.

 

[Uofmtiger]

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.

It isn't just radio, it also allows you to play albums by artists. That is worth the money for me. Beats reportedly bought MOG last year for $14 million and made if easy for current MOG users to switch, so they didn't exactly starting Beats Music from scratch. I think the high margins and popularity in the headphone market is the reason that Apple isn't just buying RDio or creating a streaming service from scratch.

Personally, I like the way iTunes Match and iTunes Radio work with Siri. If it worked with Beats and thousands of albums and artists, it would be even better.

 

[osofast240sx]

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

Yeah totally wrong on this one I see hundreds of people a day in the New York City subway system wearing beats headphones that all well out of their teens.

 

[viacavour]

Yap, the radio station model is pretty limited, and serves to upsell itunes songs. You cannot skip more than 6 songs within the hour.

The Beats model is more liberating. The user has more control.

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Yeah totally wrong on this one I see hundreds of people a day in the New York City subway system wearing beats headphones that all well out of their teens.

Yep, the Beats customers are just people of all ages who prefer to listen to songs differently.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Yeah totally wrong on this one I see hundreds of people a day in the New York City subway system wearing beats headphones that all well out of their teens.

Also, if we are talking about the Beats Streaming service it is picking up a lot of MOG users, which are mainly audiophiles since MOG was the first service with 320k streaming. The AT&T family plan also insures a wide range of ages.

I have tried the other services and Beats approach to recommending music is the best. I don't like their headphones, but I do appreciate their music service and I am not a teenager.

 

[dino12]

Beats Service

Has anyone on here tried out the music service? Is it any good? Just curious if its better than Spotify.
Thanks

 

[Cyborg21]

It wouldn't make sense for Apple to buy a brand for 3+ BILLION dollars, then get rid of the brand. Lets be honest, Apple's buying Beats for the name, not the tech or anything like that... So getting rid of the brand would be HIGHLY illogical. Would be cool to see Beats EarPods, though. I think with Apple's involvement, they could release a comfortable, balanced sounding set of headphones that look really good!

I agree! Beats is a powerful brand, Apple has 150B it might be very easy for them to create headphones with good sound quality. So Beats Brand + Good Sound Quality + Design = Success

 

[darkslide29]

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..?

It's actually music licenses on the streaming side of things...
Anyone who buys Spotify... the music licenses DO NOT transfer. The new owner would have to re-negotiate with record labels. The new owner gets the brand, and the user base.
Anyone who buys Beats Music (formerly known as MOG) gets the product, user base, and the music licenses included. This is a huge differentiator. The music licenses are included in the sale transfer.

Apple explored a Spotify-like service in the past, but labels wanted more money from Apple than Spotify was paying. So Apple abandoned those plans, but now we are seeing this.
This way Apple gets the music license deal at a price they wanted from the beginning, and they happen to also get a profitable hardware line with the deal.

 

[osofast240sx]

Has anyone on here tried out the music service? Is it any good? Just curious if its better than Spotify.
Thanks

I just downloaded the app last night and I have to say I'm very impressed and it's a lot different than Spotify. The user interface is just awesome you just have to try for yourself. I'm almost certain you will not be disappointed.

 

[iSee]

the primary target[/url] in Apple's rumored acquisition of Beats Electronics...

What nonsense.
If they just wanted Jimmy Iovine, they'd go and get him, not the whole company.

 

[QCassidy352]

How is this a bad purchase, I'm sick of all the negativity surrounding this! If they sell over 10m $300~ headphones they get their money back. Plus there is beats radio, and they also got into car audio systems which could hint at better car play integration via beats. If a thermostats company is worth 3B and a free messaging app is worth 19B than beats are a bargain at 3.2B.

1) they won't sell 10m pairs of $300 headphones
2) even if they did, that math would only work if the profit margin on those earphones was 100%. It's high, but not 100%.
3) many people believe the nest and whatsapp acquisitions were wildly overvalued, so I'm not sure that's the best defense of this one.

 

[viacavour]

Has anyone on here tried out the music service? Is it any good? Just curious if its better than Spotify.
Thanks

My old boss, closing in on 50s, love it. He recommended the service to me but I have not tried yet.

 

[cleirac]

Has anyone on here tried out the music service? Is it any good? Just curious if its better than Spotify.
Thanks

I did just the other day. They will let you try it for 7 days free, in fact, with me being on AT&T, I can try or use it for. 3 months free.

I like and enjoying it. Overall, Spotify might still be better but Beats is different and that's where Apple can enhance and possibly make it up to far with the very best.

That is what cool about this purchase, it is not like Beats is the greatest already. That is something Apple might try and claim later they did it.

 

[rahhb.riley]

That's why it is called "MacRumors"...

But why buying this overprized and underperforming headphones? if Apple wants good headphones there are better ones out there. Way better ones. So, its the streaming thing? Why not buying Pandora or Spotify then, the latter would make so much sense. Link with a button to buy directly from iTunes if you like a song, maybe with a small discount if a Spotify subscriber. Huge user base to win over to iTunes.

Or -why not changing iTunes into a streaming service as well, they have got all the music already, I guess need to renegotiate rights but which company would say to Apple "no, you didn't succeed in music business before so why should we..."

Maybe a rumor after all.

Edit:
I'm not sure why I thought Facebook owned Spotify. My comment was based on that. Sorry.

 

[osofast240sx]

1) they won't sell 10m pairs of $300 headphones
2) even if they did, that math would only work if the profit margin on those earphones was 100%. It's high, but not 100%.
3) many people believe the nest and whatsapp acquisitions were wildly overvalued, so I'm not sure that's the best defense of this one.

Nest was just a piece of hardware, did not generate any subscription money. And the ROI on nest would be extremely low. Whatsapp again no subscription money, free service.

 

[flottenheimer]

Wondering if Beats headphones are still popular?
(I don't see them a lot on the streets any more
— but they very well could be all the rage elsewhere).

Have Beats posted any headphone sales figures? ... Recently? ... Ever?

 

[cleirac]

"Beats by Dr. Dre are popular because they don't reproduce music as much as they transform it. They are the right headphones for the current era, because their design "customizes" the sound for the listener who wants bass. Music is never finished; we can chop and screw, add bass, slow it down 100x, mash it up with something else. And people will buy headphones that finish the music in the way they like."

An article for those audiophile Beats haters:

http://gizmodo.com/5877962/why-people-love-beats-by-dre-headphones

I am in the middle, I love bass but more biased towards B&W and Sennheise and hated Bose with a passion.

So I might buy a Beats for my bass music and B&W for the other genres.

I have not really tested or used Beats headphones extensively and I am all right with their looks.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/12/apple-may-actually-make-beats-headphones-better/

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Wondering if Beats headphones are still popular?
(I don't see them a lot on the streets any more
— but they very well could be all the rage elsewhere).

Have Beats posted any headphone sales figures? ... Recently? ... Ever?

Look harder. See them a lot still everywhere. But I see more people with Apple's earphones.

 

[dino12]

I just downloaded the app last night and I have to say I'm very impressed and it's a lot different than Spotify. The user interface is just awesome you just have to try for yourself. I'm almost certain you will not be disappointed.

Great, Thank You

 

[Trapezoid]

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

-Tim

"Our nexus line has no traction at all...lets buy thermostats"

-Goog