
Apple set to get Beats in $3.2B deal - Reltair
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/05/08/report-apple-to-acquire-beats/8868913/
======
iambateman
Beats headphones are crap, sure. And their streaming service isn't as mature
as Spotify. But three billion dollars isn't about headphones or online music
streaming or Dr Dre's drunken celebration. It's about growth.

Apple has a chokehold on the iPod market. They've rocked the market with the
iPod, iPhone, iPad and those products will be cash cows for a long time. But
where is their next growth going to come from? A watch? I doubt it.

All the granola 16-year-old white girls already have their iPhone. There's no
room for crazy growth among middle class white people. Apple needs to use it's
expertise to pursue new markets, which is exactly what they're doing.

Tim Cook isn't afraid, he's strategic. Beats by Dre is a high-end consumer
lifestyle brand that GREATLY appeals to black, hispanic, urban-context, young
men and women. They sell expensive products. They care about design. They
represent a way of living. They're Apple in another market.

Beats is about to be Apple's international foray into a completely new growth
segment. And it's genius.

~~~
sharkweek
I was given a pair of Beats Studios almost two years ago, so maybe that makes
it easier to say this but, speaking as a non-audiophile, they're... good? I
read a lot about how terrible they are, but in my experience, they're
comfortable, their noise cancellation is great at work, and I have never
noticed degraded audio quality (once again, as a non-audiophile).

Could someone point me to a defacto better pair of headphones in the same
price range as the studios ($200)? I'll give them a shot; I have no problem
admitting that I might very well be missing something when listening to music.

~~~
pdubs
Sony MDR-V6/MDR-7506 [http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-150-over-ear-
headp...](http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-150-over-ear-headphones/)

~~~
epaladin
Agreed. The MDR-7506 is a "studio standard" for reference/monitor headphones
in pro audio and video. The frequency response is not "enhanced" at the low
end like the Beats and many other modern headphones. I don't think the curve
is really flat- they always sound a little bright to me (thought in that hear-
more-detail sort of naturally pleasant way), but they're definitely more flat
than the Beats. The 7506 is like $90. The V6 has the same drivers, but doesn't
have a gold plated plug (seriously). I got my V6s refurbed for $50. The closed
earpads passively block external sound pretty well, and they're relatively
comfortable. They don't come in green or pink, but they sound good, are still
made with some metal parts for durability, and they're way cheaper than Beats.
Source: work in a couple different TV production studios, a friend that's in
the audio/acoustics industry, and a lot of reviews at B & H.

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parasubvert
Beats Studio released a new model in 2013 that is significantly better than
the 2008-2012 model. Beats is not "crap". Overpriced, perhaps, but there's not
much competition to stop that.

Reading the audiophile boards, the trends seems to be that the Beats Studio is
now roughly competitive to the venerable Audio Technica ATH M50 , widely
considered to be one of the most popular entry-level audiophile quality over-
ear headphones. The main difference is not audio quality (the M50 probably has
an edge here) but rather comfort and ear fatigue, with the Beats just being
more comfortable.

I love my M50s but admit they do lead to sweaty-ear.

Examples:

[http://www.head-fi.org/t/683959/new-beats-studios-2013-vs-
au...](http://www.head-fi.org/t/683959/new-beats-studios-2013-vs-audio-
technica-ath-m50) [http://www.head-fi.org/products/beats-studio-over-ear-
headph...](http://www.head-fi.org/products/beats-studio-over-ear-headphone-
black-new) [http://www.head-fi.org/t/673273/new-2013-beats-
studios](http://www.head-fi.org/t/673273/new-2013-beats-studios)
[http://www.head-fi.org/t/675031/new-redesigned-2013-beats-
by...](http://www.head-fi.org/t/675031/new-redesigned-2013-beats-by-dre-
studio-v2-in-red-white-unboxing-newbeatsstudio)

The main legitimate complaint about Beats is not that they're one of the two
best sounding headphones under $300. It's that the market will bear that much
of a price difference when the ATH M50 is $150. But, people will pay a lot for
a wide selection of colours and a bit more comfort. And price can be seen as a
feature.

In short - Beats sells decent quality for its class, overpriced for what you
get, but between comfort and colour selection, customers don't seem to mind.
These guys will fit with Apple's philosophy well.

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rwhitman
What Beats has in its corner, that Spotify doesn't, is a favorable
relationship with the music industry, particularly the artists themselves.
I've never used Beats streaming service but I was aware of it because of
musicians like Trent Reznor plugging for it before it even came to market.
Apparently they make deals where the artists get paid substantially more than
Spotify. Beats is in a unique position to get music that other services can't,
and could potentially have a monopoly on distribution of new releases from
some major artists in a few years.

Thats what Apple just bought here, I'm fairly certain they could give a hoot
about the technology, its the artist relationships and favorable streaming
contracts that they're after.

~~~
return0
Doesn't apple itself have a great relationship with the music industry and a
huge foothold in the consumers mind? Apple seems more than capable to build
their own streaming service if they wanted to

~~~
adwf
Apple may have a great relationship with the music _corporations_ , but not
necessarily with the artists themselves. The big businesses are still taking
the large slice of the pie and giving the artist very little back.

A streaming service where the artists can sell directly and pick up a larger
percentage of the pie will quickly gather a large catalogue of new music.

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mavaso
Beats aren't that amazing, yet so many people wear them. My v-moda's cost $300
and have incredible sound. Worth every penny!
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A39PPDK?pc_redir=1399523882...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A39PPDK?pc_redir=1399523882&robot_redir=1)

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encoderer
If the deal closes _, any guess on what happens to Beats Music?

Doesn't seem to be room for that and iTunes radio (and iTunes itself) as
separate brands.

_I think it will based on, eg, the Dr Dre video where he's bragging about it
-- makes me think the deal is already done.

~~~
gdilla
it'll be itunes radio 2.0.

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scelerat
This is not a snark at all: was there any more information in this clip that
hasn't already been discussed in FT, NYT, etc. USA Today almost makes it sound
like a done deal, but there's nothing substantial here that I can see.

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epistasis
I'm not sure how much of any of this I believe until we have some word from
Apple. Under the Jobs regime, such premature talk would have almost certainly
spoiled the deal. We'll have to see how Cook responds to that.

~~~
k-mcgrady
The drunken celebration video featuring Dre was all the proof I needed. He
wouldn't do something that stupid unless everything was agreed. They're
probably waiting until the markets close to officially announce.

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DonGateley
Has anyone looked to see if Beats might have an interesting patent portfolio?
Something perhaps to augment Apple's recently granted patent on bioinformatic
earphones?

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gdilla
Now samsung will buy Chambers by RZA [1]! j/k

[1] [http://wesc.com/chambersbyrza](http://wesc.com/chambersbyrza)

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taksintik
3.2 billion for an equalizer with deep brand recognition. AAPL must be
swimming in cash.

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msane
Please tell me this is bullshit.

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bitwarrior
Billion is the new million.

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canvia
Apple's next acquisition is going to be Monster Cable.

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arjn
I dont understand this. I've never even heard of "Beats" before today. Does
apple know something I dont ?

