Beats acquisition would give Iovine and Dr. Dre senior positions at Apple, report says
Continuing with ongoing reports and speculation surrounding Apple's rumored buy of Beats Electronics, a report on Friday claims the music company's cofounders, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, would likely net senior positions in Cupertino if a deal does indeed happen.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that the two Beats executives would move to senior positions at Apple in the case of a buyout. Discussions over a $3.2 billion acquisition are said to be in their final stages, according to a slew of reports on Thursday.
It is not clear what roles Iovine and Andre Young -- who performs under the stage name Dr. Dre -- would operate, though one source said Iovine will leave his seat as chairman of record label Interscope Geffen A&M for the opportunity. The music mogul is still under contract with parent company Universal Music, which itself has a 14 percent stake in Beats, though it is likely Iovine will be allowed to leave if Apple goes through with the rumored deal.
A report yesterday claimed Iovine was in talks to become a "special advisor" to Apple CEO Tim Cook, but did not mention Young's role in the process. At the time, it was speculated that the music exec would enter Apple under a so-called "acqui-hire" agreement that could feasibly be extended to Young as well.
Although pundits and analysts have questioned the motives behind Apple's as-yet-unannounced acquisition, there are benefits to be had from a Beats buy.
For example, aside from its popular audio hardware lineup, the Beats brand built out a relatively successful music streaming service. Defenders of the Apple-Beats tie-up say Beats Music and the Beats management team could serve as underpinnings for future content negotiations.
Despite Iovine being a close personal friend of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, he never had a tangible impact on the Cupertino, Calif. company's products aside from working on various marketing collaborations with big-name artists. With Cook now at the helm, Apple may be more open to having both Iovine and Young on board.
Carrying substantial clout in the industry, as well as fresh ideas regarding music distribution, the Beats executives could be worth the rumored $3.2 billion investment in the long term.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that the two Beats executives would move to senior positions at Apple in the case of a buyout. Discussions over a $3.2 billion acquisition are said to be in their final stages, according to a slew of reports on Thursday.
It is not clear what roles Iovine and Andre Young -- who performs under the stage name Dr. Dre -- would operate, though one source said Iovine will leave his seat as chairman of record label Interscope Geffen A&M for the opportunity. The music mogul is still under contract with parent company Universal Music, which itself has a 14 percent stake in Beats, though it is likely Iovine will be allowed to leave if Apple goes through with the rumored deal.
A report yesterday claimed Iovine was in talks to become a "special advisor" to Apple CEO Tim Cook, but did not mention Young's role in the process. At the time, it was speculated that the music exec would enter Apple under a so-called "acqui-hire" agreement that could feasibly be extended to Young as well.
Although pundits and analysts have questioned the motives behind Apple's as-yet-unannounced acquisition, there are benefits to be had from a Beats buy.
For example, aside from its popular audio hardware lineup, the Beats brand built out a relatively successful music streaming service. Defenders of the Apple-Beats tie-up say Beats Music and the Beats management team could serve as underpinnings for future content negotiations.
Despite Iovine being a close personal friend of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, he never had a tangible impact on the Cupertino, Calif. company's products aside from working on various marketing collaborations with big-name artists. With Cook now at the helm, Apple may be more open to having both Iovine and Young on board.
Carrying substantial clout in the industry, as well as fresh ideas regarding music distribution, the Beats executives could be worth the rumored $3.2 billion investment in the long term.
Comments
This makes me believe it even less.
While Google and Facebook are buying up the future (AI, VR, messaging, etc), Apple's buying up urban brands.
Crazy times we live in!
Dear Tim, you're the next Steve Ballmer, not the next Steve Jobs.
No point commenting further until some solid info is released.
Well, that's one way to make a bold statement that none of the current players in the music streaming have done anything corner the market.
Will be interesting to what Apple's choices are.
The Playstation division is heavily influenced by music folks. They figured out a way to make creative media staff work well with techies. Those account managers treat the game developers like talents in the music industry. Folks loved it. A lot of creative work came out of the unlikely "partnership".
Will be interesting to what Apple's choices are.
How that working out for Sony? Sony lost it's way by buying and working with content people who will never advance hardware ever.
That's not true. PS3 was indeed over-engineered during its time. They need to do it just right. Not too far ahead, and not behind.
And a lot of exclusive, creative titles came out of it.
The Playstation division remains a bright spot in Sony group today.
Where is the press release confirming any of this? At least try to stave off your disgust until there is actual proof. Is that really too much to ask.
Do you remember the iPod release? No one seemed to get it and all thought Apple had finally made their last mistake but it turned out to be the key to Apple's path back to greatness.
Claims of buying this for its Contracts with Labels or ``Streaming Service algorithms'' makes me question you folks knowledge of Apple and the actual massive streaming infrastructure Apple already has in-place, not to mention the algorithms they've been developing for the past 16 years.
Apple has been getting content producers on-board for the past 18 months.
There is something else, at work, in this arrangement.
If rumor is true - its a strategic content play, not hardware/software in my humble opinion. With regards music positioning its could be a smart move. (big music picture - beyond rap or hip hop). The same thing for Apple TV - a lot of future hires will feel like square pegs in a round hole.
I question the need to divide them into media, hardware/software people explicitly. It's 2014. The music execs we all fought in the early 2000s may have evolved. There are also new blood. Many folks are half media and half tech these days. As long as they figure out an organic plan to work together, it should be interesting.
I expect a few blow ups though. Otherwise, they may not be pushing it enough. This sort of mix talent gigs might actually define the next culture.
Claims of buying this for its Contracts with Labels or ``Streaming Service algorithms'' makes me question you folks knowledge of Apple and the actual massive streaming infrastructure Apple already has in-place, not to mention the algorithms they've been developing for the past 16 years.
Apple has been getting content producers on-board for the past 18 months.
There is something else, at work, in this arrangement.
Yeah, I didn't think it's hard sciences too. Apple have those. Show us something more interesting. Jobs said they are standing at the junction of liberal arts and engineering.
Where is the press release confirming any of this? At least try to stave off your disgust until there is actual proof. Is that really too much to ask.
Do you remember the iPod release? No one seemed to get it and all thought Apple had finally made their last mistake but it turned out to be the key to Apple's path back to greatness.
Sorry but mediocre headphones ain't an iPod. What's sad is that they didn't even buy a good headphone company!
What's next for Timmy? Monster Cables? Maybe FUBU? Some other bling company?
Tim Cook really is one of the worst leaders that Apple could have picked.
They need to bring back Scott Forstall. Now that guy had a vision! Too bad Timmy axed him because he was his only competition.
Considering his personal net worth is $550 million dollars the guy must be doing something wrong right? Smh
I fail to see what personal worth has anything whatsoever to do with Apple.