[Hapster]

 
I don't think they bought them just to say "Beats is earning money..I want some of that", they could've just bought shares. No, if anything it was the branding.

 

[thievesarmy]

welp, it's official. BARF.
 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140528006701/en/Apple-Acquire-Beats-Music-Beats-Electronics
 
thread title updated.

 

[CantScareMe]

Yep, Wow!!
 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27613243 
 
Most read on BBC...cos apple and beats are both kind of popular...

 

[attilahun]

Sigh.

 

[FuzzyD]

The "Apple products are just fashion accessories" crowd is going to love this.

 

[CantScareMe]

Execs: 'We need something to boost our Music division. What should we do?'. 
Tim: 'Beats me.' 
 
Sorry, had to quote this from the web.
Borderline cheesy/funny. I think it's cheesy

 

[thievesarmy]

I'm a very loyal Apple fan, and this has seriously changed my perception of their brand, which is arguably their most valuable asset.

 

[thievesarmy]

"Could Eddy's [Cue] team have built a subscription service? Of course. We could've built those 27 other things ourselves, too," referencing the 27 other companies acquired over the last year, "you don't build everything yourself." That's especially true if you think that you're buying the "first subscription service that really got it right," as he told Re/code.
 
http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/28/apple-could-have-built-subscription-music-service/

 

[FuzzyD]

Same

  I'm a very loyal Apple fan, and this has seriously changed my perception of their brand, which is arguably their most valuable asset.

 
Same. Just wait until iOS 8 has its music player renamed "Beats" and you can't you delete it. I'll be done with the iPhone at that point.

 

[Bansaku]

  I'm a very loyal Apple fan, and this has seriously changed my perception of their brand, which is arguably their most valuable asset.

Same here. I know it seems silly, but one can't help how they feel. I know this deal is more than 'headphones', but seriously, Beats has absolutely NOTHING that appeals to me; not it's style, not it's music, especially not it's endorsements.
 
Apple has a gazillion dollars and could have literally bought every other music streaming service out there (and half the headphone market). Why Beats? Image!!!!!
 
I hate to say this, and what I am about to say has been speculated by reputable sources since the news broke earlier this month. I think Apple did this to attract more blacks. There, I said it. Their logic (reasoning) is that it is a fact that iDevices are not popular with black community; I take public transit daily to and from work, and I have literally yet to see a single black person with one (and I am obsessed with gazing at peoples headphones/IEM and their music players). I can also tell you that by my observations 98% of Asians (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino) have iPhones and 0% wear beats.

 

[Makiah S]

  Same here. I know it seems silly, but one can't help how they feel. I know this deal is more than 'headphones', but seriously, Beats has absolutely NOTHING that appeals to me; not it's style, not it's music, especially not it's endorsements.
 
Apple has a gazillion dollars and could have literally bought every other music streaming service out there (and half the headphone market). Why Beats? Image!!!!!
 
I hate to say this, and what I am about to say has been speculated by reputable sources since the news broke earlier this month. I think Apple did this to attract more blacks. There, I said it. Their logic (reasoning) is that it is a fact that iDevices are not popular with black community; I take public transit daily to and from work, and I have literally yet to see a single black person with one (and I am obsessed with gazing at peoples headphones/IEM and their music players). I can also tell you that by my observations 98% of Asians (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino) have iPhones and 0% wear beats.

I HIGHLY doubt they are going to keep any of the style that Beats developed, I think Apple is purely after the infrustructure, Beats Audio has the facilities to develop decent sounding headphones and the connections to manufactor a lot of them. Apple is going to use their infrerstructure and pre existing hard ware and software to advance their own brand. Im sure Apple will still sell one or two brand of "beats" styled headphones but I for see Apple launching their own headphones with a slighty different estectics 

 

[Currawong]

I think all the crazy ideas as to why they bought the company are nonsense. Apple's thinking is vastly more complex and carefully considered than what most people imagine. If it weren't, they wouldn't be as big or successful as they are now.
 
If anything, they will have a long term goal with this, which we'll find out about soon enough. The iPod, iPhone and iPad seemed crazy when they were respectively announced, yet look where we are now.

 

[Makiah S]

  I think all the crazy ideas as to why they bought the company are nonsense. Apple's thinking is vastly more complex and carefully considered than what most people imagine. If it weren't, they wouldn't be as big or successful as they are now.
 
If anything, they will have a long term goal with this, which we'll find out about soon enough. The iPod, iPhone and iPad seemed crazy when they were respectively announced, yet look where we are now.

Oh I think the crazy ideas are Valid, personally I think buying beats was a Smart move for Apple, what ever they do with it will only benifit Apple, granted they may lose a few hundred "audioPhiles" but they'll gain a ton more customers, Beats was the Highest grossing headphone in what 2012 or something? Apple will take that success and push it to the next level, I hope this is the start of a push into High Res for Apple, If they offered a streaming service that featured  lossless files that would be very cool, something else to thing about is the new 802.11ac wireless standard... if Wireless has moved up to 5g Streaming Celluar Technology can't b far behind, and I can very easily for see Apple making a LOT of money doing a High Res Streaming service in the near Future, again they have infrustructure in place with Beats and the Hard ware in the Headphones to have a decent platform to launch a campagin into High Res, not to mention if Apple starts to Stream and sell High Res music in bulk it'll change the market again. As far as I know, there are no millions of people subscribed to lossless quality streamign services yet... imagine if Apple was the first to brign taht technology to their millions of customers :/
 
if anything, with Apple Purchasing Beats and their streaming service, along with the CEO of Audeze in the Public Eye... something big is about to happen in our little Headphone Market, not a bubble... but there's a wave coming
 
that said, I've got a job offer in the works that will hopefully give me the chance to help push this wave forward... but to those of you in the industry... I wish you the best as I think the industry stands to gain a lot in the future... were on the brink of something that will hopefully start selling more $500+ headphones 
 
Again look at AKG's choice to launch the K812, imagine again, High Res Streaming on your iPad... with a pair of AKG K812s, or better yet lap tops now adays "brag" about having beats audio inside... you've seen the cool commecerials, now if the Beats Brand is Apples "high Res" option, and they start pushing out some decent quality cans... again some one's going to get very wealthy... 

 

[Bansaku]

  I HIGHLY doubt they are going to keep any of the style that Beats developed, I think Apple is purely after the infrustructure, Beats Audio has the facilities to develop decent sounding headphones and the connections to manufactor a lot of them. Apple is going to use their infrerstructure and pre existing hard ware and software to advance their own brand. Im sure Apple will still sell one or two brand of "beats" styled headphones but I for see Apple launching their own headphones with a slighty different estectics 

 
There is a very high probability (no doubt)  that Apple will indeed make use the existing infrastructure and re-brand/re-develope Beats into their own. However Apple could have bought any other headphone manufacturer and do what you hypothesize. Why do they 'need' Beats? Marketing. If not for the headphones, for Dre and Iovine.  Apple could literally hire the best of the best from anywhere in the world who have the same skills and knowledge as those two. But will they be as 'cool' as Dre and Iovine? Me thinks not. But that's just my 2 cents. 

 

[StanD]

  I think all the crazy ideas as to why they bought the company are nonsense. Apple's thinking is vastly more complex and carefully considered than what most people imagine. If it weren't, they wouldn't be as big or successful as they are now.
 
If anything, they will have a long term goal with this, which we'll find out about soon enough. The iPod, iPhone and iPad seemed crazy when they were respectively announced, yet look where we are now.

Isn't $3B off the deep end for this? Their (Beats) Streaming service doesn't have all that many subscribers. As far as manufacturing and engineering, I'd say Apple is well established in these areas and if they wanted to design a headphone they could contract the work to an established headphone company for far less money and get better results. As far as a customer base, Apple is not wanting. This deal, if it goes through, may end up being a major blunder.