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People say the same of Apple. But even if true, they still sell really well, and with Apples resources backing them they can be improved.

I have heard people say that Apple products are overpriced.. I don't think its a popular opinion though that Apple products are "junk." I don't think even the haters really think that do they?
 
Ok, I got a laugh out of that :D

In all seriousness though, I don't see the addition of the Beats brand or Dre bringing higher SQ to Apple's products. That's all I was trying to get across in the original post you responded to.

Okay :)

No hard feelings or offence were meant, by the way - sorry if I was rude, that was wrong. :)
 
Apple buying next was a bet the farm bet. This is pocket change. 2% of cash on hand. If they get any value at all it's worth it.


The NEXT acquisition was a huge chunk of cash to Apple in that day. The company was more of a backyard vegetable garden than a farm. The difference was Steve was a known with Apple. The Next deal was a slam dunk.

Hopefully the Beats deal if it goes through will be positive for Apple.
 
The NEXT acquisition was a huge chunk of cash to Apple in that day. The company was more of a backyard vegetable garden than a farm. The difference was Steve was a known with Apple. The Next deal was a slam dunk.

Hopefully the Beats deal if it goes through will be positive for Apple.

NeXTSTEP was, and is, incredible technology. "Core" technologies are what make OS X what it is.
 
Can someone explain why apple would purchase beats?

I have read a few times now that, if a company were to buy Spotify, the licensing deals do not transfer over and the new owner would have to re-negotiate with the labels.
As we know, Apple wanted to create a Spotify-clone, but the labels wanted more money from Apple than Spotify pays. Apple didn't like that, so they abandoned the Spotify model and instead went with a Pandora-like model with iTunes Radio.

Here's the kicker: For whatever reason, Beats Music (which is a Spotify clone) has it built in that the music licenses are transferable when a sale occurs. This must have been in the contract or something when Beats bought MOG to begin with.
If this is all true, this is huge. They get their Spotify model, and at a much cheaper licensing cost which can help pay for itself in some time.

So now Apple gets the cheaper licensing deal they wanted to begin with, and they can play with different options, such as...
They can keep it separate, as to not cannibalize iTunes album sales, but make it super easy to subscribe to with your Apple ID. Or they can figure out a way to integrate it. Or include it with iTunes Match (or additional fee) or who knows.

Also, it doesn't hurt that they are acquiring the popular headphone hardware part of the business which is also very profitable today. They can keep it around and profit some more, or ride the branding, or even spin it off.

They also get the CEO of Beats, Iovine, who is very cozy with the music industry and may be able to get even cozier with Apple as a strong partner going forward with the future of music.

Combining all these things, I can see some value. It is still a strange one though, who woulda thought? :)
 
Funny how out of touch some old Apple fans have become. You are the parody of an Apple fan that buyers of Samsung phones make fun of.


Hip Hop has become the largest, most profitable, and innovative form of popular music in the last 20 years BY FAR. This is a brilliant move by Apple and the addition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre is great for Apple.

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T PERSONALLY LISTEN TO HIP HOP DOENS'T MEAN THAT IT ISN'T IMPORTANT

Beatsmusic is the third largest streaming service behind Spotify and Pandora and the inclusion of it in every iOS update in the coming future basically means that Apple will dominate streaming music and the entire music industry for years to come.

In addition Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are well connected in the entertainment industry and will aid Apple in negotiating not only music contracts, but all the necessary contracts to get the Apple TV service off the ground, (something they've had a problem with since the departure of Steve Jobs)

Among other things...

Brilliant move. Bravo Apple
 
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Funny how out of touch some old Apple fans have become. You are the parody of an Apple fan that buyers of Samsung phones make fun of.


Hip Hop has become the largest, most profitable, and innovative form of popular music in the last 20 years BY FAR. This is a brilliant move by Apple and the addition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre is great for Apple.

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T PERSONALLY LISTEN TO HIP HOP DOENS'T MEAN THAT IT ISN'T IMPORTANT

Beatsmusic is the third largest streaming service behind Spotify and Pandora and the inclusion of it in every iOS update in the coming future basically means that Apple will dominate streaming music and the entire music industry for years to come.

In addition Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are well connected in the entertainment industry and will aid Apple in negotiating not only music contracts, but all the necessary contracts to get the Apple TV service off the ground, (something they've had a problem with since the departure of Steve Jobs)

Among other things...

Brilliant move. Bravo Apple

Using your reasoning, Apple should continue to look for acquisitions motivated solely for profit.. I think that is the wrong approach. That is a recipe for becoming more saturated and potentially lowering quality standards. I think the better approach would be to continue to invest in Research and Development, and use the massive amounts of cash on hand for strategic acquisitions. Is this a strategic acquisition? I am not sure.. I know its one of the most expensive.
 
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s2e5ZibypDk

lol... Id love to be at one of their "executive" meetings with these fools and their entourages. Who makes a video patting himself on the back to a deal thats not done, or at least made public?

I sure hope Mr Cook knows what he's doing... He should of bought Star Wars instead.
 
there won't be beats logo's on any devices, but there may be a small beats logo on the side of the packaging. like Intel 'inside' logo on mac boxes.
 
Another reason to scratch your head over this.

Benedict Evans (@BenedictEvans) tweeted at 9:05pm - 9 May 14:

Idle reminder: recorded music is not a very big industry. pic.twitter.com/FEQjJPb96Z

BnPU927CQAENJQ5.png
 
I would have thought a person of such high integrity as yourself would have abstained from making comments with such silly people; I've read your post history, you're highly intelligent and don't post frivolously.

I summarise that your account may have been hacked :)

Exactly. All the hate on here, you'd think that there was a levy to break and make it racial. But instead let's use the term "urban youth".
 
What's really sad is people thinking this is a good idea because it will make Apple popular with urban youth.

Aww the real reason why most Macrumors posters are mad. So what is an Urban youth? I see all sorts of people wearing Beats headphones. Just like I see all sorts of people with Apple products.
 
I don't get why you people think this is such a bad thing. Can someone inform me why this is a horrible thing?

It's not a bad thing.

Some people are idiots and don't GET this acquisition because they lost the pulse of popular culture and technology years ago and you know what...

...that's ok, because those people are not in charge of Apple... THANK GOD!


A LOT MORE PEOPLE LISTEN TO "HIP HOP" THAN "URBAN YOUTH" GROW UP PEOPLE!!!

iTUNES is DEAD PEOPLE. WAKE UP> Apple knows it. you should too!


Justr because your tastes have been ossified over the years and you have no idea what's going on with popular music these days doesn't mean you know $#@! of what is going on. LOL
 
I don't get why you people think this is such a bad thing. Can someone inform me why this is a horrible thing?

It's not. You are just seeing a bunch of pretentious brandwhore fanboys ragging on another brand thinking that this somehow means Apple hardware will start carrying a Beats logo. There is clearly a business case for purchasing beats, the only question in my mind as an investor is are they paying too much. With that said, the internet is a funny place and you can't neglect the power of the keyboard protestor hurting your brand image.
 
Beats is one of the worst headphone manufacturers on the market. The sound quality ranges from awful to actively distorting your music, the prices are absurdly high and they seem more concerned with making fashion accessories than a decent pair of headphones. Availability of high quality headphones in Canada is dismal and I was hoping Apple might make a more widely available set at least on par with some of what Audio Technica, Grados and Sennheiser have on the market. Instead we'll get Apple branded Beats garbage.

Very disappointing.
 
Hip Hop has become the largest, most profitable, and innovative form of popular music in the last 20 years BY FAR. This is a brilliant move by Apple and the addition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre is great for Apple.

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T PERSONALLY LISTEN TO HIP HOP DOENS'T MEAN THAT IT ISN'T IMPORTANT

This has very little to do with Hip Hop though. Besides, can you really purchase "cred", and how thin can you spread a brand before it becomes "all packaging".
 
This has very little to do with Hip Hop though. Besides, can you really purchase "cred", and how thin can you spread a brand before it becomes "all packaging".

It certainly has to do why certain people here don't like this deal LOL!
 
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