Kanye West says Samsung-Jay Z collaboration drove Apple to buy Beats for cultural credibility

Posted:
in General Discussion edited June 2014
In a surprise appearance at the Cannes Lions festival, rapper Kanye West said a collaboration between fellow performer Jay Z and Samsung last year played into Apple's decision to buy Beats and acqui-hire cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.


From left: Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz, Translation CEO Steve Stoute and Kanye West at Cannes Lions festival.
Source: Team Kanye Daily


According to West, Samsung bought instant cultural cachet when it partnered with Jay Z last year to offer one million free copies of the Brooklyn-based rapper's latest album to Galaxy phone buyers, reports Adweek.

With its $3 billion acquisition of Beats, Apple has done much the same as Samsung, West said. The outspoken rapper explained that Apple has lost touch with culture since Jobs' death in 2011 and the acquisition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre's firm is meant to regain some of that lost ground.

"There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture," West said of Apple. "The reason I said I didn't like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. [...] Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers."

West was a surprise addition to a seminar at the festival run by ad agency Translation entitled "Technology, Culture, and Consumer Adoption: Learning to Read the Cultural Landscape." Translation's CEO Steve Stoute and noted venture capitalist Ben Horowitz were on hand for the discussion.

West, a devout Apple fan who previously compared himself to cofounder Steve Jobs, said he isn't a Samsung supporter, but respected the Korean company's decision to tap pop culture with its Jay Z deal. Apple was subsequently influenced by the partnership and ended up buying Beats, he said.

"Steve Jobs, as everyone knows, was my biggest influence. Just seeing the way he fought to make things easier for people. After he passed, I made it my life's mission to do what he did inside of that company," West said. "I dream to help raise the palate and raise the taste level of a generation and also be involved with the production and distribution and advertising of that thing everyone's begging for."



For now, it appears West's theory holds water as Iovine and Dre have been given high-level executive roles at Apple. It's unclear what the pair -- whose official titles are "Jimmy and Dre" -- will do in Cupertino, but they both seem to be more than willing to start working for the world's largest tech company.

In a The Wall Street Journal profile earlier this month, Dre's steadfast work ethic and perfectionist tendencies were likened to Jobs. Aside from lending his name to the Beats brand of headphones, Dre's most important asset is his ability to recognize what is "cool" and translate that into a consumer-facing product.

Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted Beats Music as a major piece of the puzzle, saying the acquisition gives the company a head start in subscription-based music streaming. Sources later said Apple paid out about $500 million for Beats' music arm, roughly five times the value industry watchers estimate the service to be worth.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 92
    No comments yet?
  • Reply 2 of 92

    $3 billion is an awful lot to pay for cachet, cultural or otherwise. I was kind of hoping they bought Beats for the quality of its IP and developmental potential, rather than to keep a few fashion followers happy. Still what do I know.

  • Reply 3 of 92
    Yeah, because he's in the board room of Apple and Beats... So he would know...

    Oh please!
  • Reply 4 of 92
    emericaemerica Posts: 34member
    Someone needs to punch Kanye in the nose for comparing himself to Steve Jobs. Wow. Why would anyone believe this guy and his assumptions. Apple's doing better than ever
  • Reply 5 of 92
    tomhayestomhayes Posts: 128member

    I like Kayne, but he's wrong on this one.

  • Reply 6 of 92
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Pretty sure Apple "culture" is a little deeper and more relevant in the broader perspective than uh.... *stifled laugh* ..... Kanye and Jay-z.
  • Reply 7 of 92
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Pretty sure he meant "help raise the palate and raise the taste level . . ."—not "palette."
  • Reply 8 of 92
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    He's not the only one who thinks this.
  • Reply 9 of 92
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member

    I

    CAN'T

    STAND

    THAT

    EGOMANIACAL

    MOTHERF*CK*R

     

    It has nothing to do with his success, his money, his race....anything like that. It's simply his attitude and his notion that people care about -- and want to listen to -- what he has to say.

     

    Hate to break it to you Kanyé.....we don't. (Said in my best pitch-harmonized voice)

  • Reply 10 of 92
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    ...

  • Reply 11 of 92
    I read title of this article then immediately jumped to the Comments. Kanye West is a joke. I am assuming he needs more press now that he is married and a lot of people betting on the inevitable divorce due to him or her cheating, falling out of love, irreconcilable differences, etc.

    The Samsung and Jay Z collaboration was not as successful as Beyonce's surprise release of her last album exclusively sold on iTunes. The Apple and Beyoncé collaboration was so successful, Apple competitors threatened to not sell Beyonce's CD!!

    If anything, Apple showed Samsung how things can be done without having to cough up $20 million, rape people for their mobile data, facing a customer backlash, apologizing for the asinine rape and more.

    I guess I will read the story now. ????
  • Reply 12 of 92
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    He's not the only one who thinks this.

    Yes... I am sure Jay-Z agrees on that and Samsung is already producing the campaign that shows Apple following their lead. 

     

    /s

  • Reply 13 of 92
    nagrommenagromme Posts: 2,834member
    I've been awaiting some info from deep inside Apple's secret workings. Thanks, Kanye!

    Now we know that one single petty factor against rival Samsung drive this whole massive deal...?
  • Reply 14 of 92
    apple ][ wrote: »
    ...

    In the words of The Joker: "Here. We. Go!" :lol:

    I say we un-ban drblank temporarily for the lulz.
  • Reply 15 of 92
    emerica wrote: »
    Someone needs to punch Kanye in the nose for comparing himself to Steve Jobs. Wow. Why would anyone believe this guy and his assumptions. Apple's doing better than ever

    Well Steve Jobs would compare himself to Steve Jobs, so they do have that in common.
  • Reply 16 of 92
    Actually Kanye also invented the Internet and nuclear fission.
  • Reply 17 of 92
    rs9rs9 Posts: 68member
    It's all about Perception Folks How much do kids pay for Nikes?
  • Reply 18 of 92
    In the words of Morris Day from the R&B 80';)s group The Time, "Ohh lawwd," he had to open his big mouth for his look at me moment.

    But seriously, Apple doesn't need Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Kanye, or Fred Flintstone for street or cultural cred. Apple has been very-very popular with ALL races and ethnicities for years and years. It's not like all the African-American & Hispanic kids have been all walking around with Android phones and HP laptops before this. He is such a moron it's hard to fathom anyone with a bigger lopsided ego and love for himself. Go back to his famous for only having a fake big butt gold-digger wife and leave Apple to Apple.
  • Reply 19 of 92
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    And George Bush hates black people. If you listen to this guy you're crazier than him.
  • Reply 20 of 92
    I read title of this article then immediately jumped to the Comments. Kanye West is a joke. I am assuming he needs more press now that he is married and a lot of people betting on the inevitable divorce due to him or her cheating, falling out of love, irreconcilable differences, etc.

    The Samsung and Jay Z collaboration was not as successful as Beyonce's surprise release of her last album exclusively sold on iTunes. The Apple and Beyoncé collaboration was so successful, Apple competitors threatened to not sell Beyonce's CD!!

    If anything, Apple showed Samsung how things can be done without having to cough up $20 million, rape people for their mobile data, facing a customer backlash, apologizing for the asinine rape and more.

    I guess I will read the story now. ????

    Just finished reading the article and realized my above comment was on target without having to read the article. Damn, people are do predictable. He is looking for more press.

    I found this paragraph interesting... "There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture," West said of Apple. "The reason I said I didn't like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. [...] Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers."

    His parents raised him to work with #1? Really? His patents were so shallow that they chose to ignore the biblical history of #1s?

    Oh well. This crap will be around for today and tomorrow then fade away.
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