Apple, the company behind the popular Mac and iPhone product line, had announced last week that Beats has joined its family last Friday. The whole deal cost $3 billion, which saw the headphone manufacturer (Beats Electronics) and music subscription service (Beats Music) being acquired by Apple.
Apple also posted a note on its website welcoming the team:
“Music has always held a special place in our hearts, and we’re thrilled to join forces with a group of people who love it as much as we do.”
On Friday too, Beats, now part of Apple, was reported to have uploaded a short 30-second clip to its Twitter account featuring two of its animated “Pill” creatures and the Siri virtual assistant. The two characters were based on Beats by Dre’s Pill speakers, named Mikey and Tina, commented on the recently closed deal: “It’s official, Apple and Beats have joined forces.” However, the status update seems to have been removed.
By acquiring Beats Music, a $10-a-month streaming service, Apple now offers another music option alongside its iTunes Radio to Apple fans and users. iTunes Radio was first launched in September 2013 but the service is available only in the U.S. and Australia. With Beats Music and iTunes Radio, Apple might be doing to push for its music subscription service, competing against other companies such as Spotify, Rdio, Deezer, Pandora and any more.
Beats has long established its “street cred” in the music industry: founded in 2006 by rapper and record producer Dr. Dre, Beats entered into a five-year partnership with Monster Inc. to design and build the Beats By Dr. Dre headphones in 2007. As the headphones grew in popularity, Monster also set up similar partnerships for headphones branded by celebrities like Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs, Lady Gaga and LeBron James.
We are eagerly waiting for any major announcements from both Apple and Beats, and as its welcome note says, we can’t wait to hear what’s next.
