APPLE HAS ANNOUNCED it will buy Beats Music and Beats Electronics in a much-hyped deal worth $3 billion (€2.21 billion), in a bid to to bolster its position in the hotly contested online music sector.
The move is expected to help the US tech giant, a pioneer in digital music with its wildly popular iTunes platform, ramp up its efforts to counter the successful models of streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and others.
The deal for the maker of high-end audio equipment and the subscription streaming music service is Apple’s largest acquisition ever.
It calls for Beats co-founders Dr. Dre, a Grammy-winning hip-hop pioneer, and Jimmy Iovine, a veteran music executive, to join the California company.
“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.
That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.
Bringing Beats into the Apple fold will offer opportunities to weave iTunes Radio service into more devices, and even spread the App Store for mini programs to other products, according to analysts.
Adding Beats will give Apple fresh star power in music and the ability to get more ad revenues from streaming including mobile.
The deal represents a shift in strategy for Apple, which is known for developing its own products in-house and making only modest acquisitions.
But some analysts say the logic for the tie-up is not entirely clear.
“Confusing”
“It’s a little confusing to me what Apple is getting out of it,” said Bob O’Donnell, analyst and founder of Technalysis Research.
O’Donnell said Beats “appeals to a demographic that is different from some of the typical Apple demographics” and has a streaming music service with “a relatively limited number of customers.”
“It doesn’t seem a great match unless there are other issues at play,” O’Donnell told AFP. “But my guess is that Apple isn’t going to spend that much without that being the case.”
The analyst said Apple may be able to give a boost to its recently launched iTunes streaming service, or possibly get a foothold in the lucrative market for music accessories.
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