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Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

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Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#41

Post by MichaelGG »

astrodust wrote: post #10

This seems like a strange thing to acquire. It's not like Apple couldn't make headphones of that sort if they wanted to, and if they wanted cachet, they'd probably scoop up Bose or Sennheiser, a name with some actual weight behind it. It's amazing that HP's series "With Beats Audio" actually cheapens their product.

I read a thread on Reddit where someone discovered that disabling the "enhanced audio" feature just screwed up the driver EQ system (setting "treble" all the way up and "bass" all the way down).

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#42

Post by robg »

If true, seems like a submarine into wearable technologies.

Apple building mood sensing tech for personalized streaming service is a bit creepy. Apple adding mood sensing tech to a huge, young, existing, user base is broadly exciting.

H/T: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7718083

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#43

Post by paul_f »

doe88 wrote: post #27

As I see it it's not for the hardware, but for the streaming service and for Jimmy Iovine and his connections/knowledge in the music industry. I don't know how he could fit with Eddy Cue but I think Jimmy Iovine would bring a lot if he was in charge of the music services in iTunes.

Wait until Tim Cook realizes he actually bought Jimmy Iovine's company and not Jony Ive's company. Hilarity sure to ensue.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#44

Post by abalone »

This makes even less sense than the Square acquisition rumor.

1. Apple has the tech and library to do their own subscription service if they want to. You think they can't do their own licensing deal? They surely don't need to pay $3B to acquire someone else's.

2. Apple wouldn't want to operate a cross-platform service. They'd pay a huge premium to acquire a bunch of Android customers than they'd promptly purge. Plus, it'd probably invite anti-trust scrutiny.

3. The argument about Beats headphone quality is moot. Even if it's more than just marketing / bass-heavy EQ, Apple would not pay $3B to acquire headphone technology.

None of that makes any sense at all. I have to believe someone thinks Beats and Square are interesting to Apple because their products have a certain superficial Apple design aesthetic. But it makes no sense from a business model standpoint.

Or maybe Apple's doing some kind of next-level mole hunt here to level-up on secrecy.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#45

Post by scottm30 »

state wrote: post #9

I cannot figure out any way to reconcile the incredibly poor quality of Beats products with a hopeful future for Apple. Can someone make the argument for why this is a good idea?

Purely speculating...

Modular phones will create opportunities for high quality audio drivers for Android.

Apple products are synonymous with quality audio, and Apple's success is partly attributed to it's investment in music technology.

A brand like Beats which is popular with young audiophiles could potentially transform Android into a recognizable music platform if they provided a Beats audio driver and quality headphones.

This is a risky proposition for Apple as it would drive more of their high-end audience to view Android as a serious audio contender.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#47

Post by paul_f »

nashashmi wrote: post #29

So where does that leave HTC? They own 50.1% stake. They need cash pretty quickly. And I think they would continue to want implementing Beats audio in their phones. Btw, HTC One audio sound quality is emotionally exhilarating. (Tears)

HTC sold their shares in Beats a while ago. They don't own any now.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#48

Post by balls187 »

Aqwis wrote: post #31
Cookingboy wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are over marketed a bit and over priced, sure, but just as much as Bose, B&O and a lot of other premium sound brands. How do they objectively have "incredibly poor quality"? Do you have a link that support they have really poor sound quality or bad build quality or horrible customer satisfaction rate?

Bose is a damn bad example as a premium brand to compare Beats to. Their consumer headphones are widely considered to be way overpriced and gimmicky. The brands Beats should really be compared to are Sennheiser, Shure, A-T, Denon, Beyerdynamic and the like. Any offerings from these brands at a price point from $100 and up offer at least as good sound quality as Beats' cans and for a much lower price, and many of thei…

Except their Noise Canceling line has been getting good reviews from many review sites.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#49

Post by jcampbell1 »

abalone wrote: post #44

This makes even less sense than the Square acquisition rumor. 1. Apple has the tech and library to do their own subscription service if they want to. You think they can't do their own licensing deal? They surely don't need to pay $3B to acquire someone else's. 2. Apple wouldn't want to operate a cross-platform service. They'd pay a huge premium to acquire a bunch of Android customers than they'd promptly purge. Plus,…

> You think they can't do their own licensing deal?

When you are the richest guy in town it is hard to negotiate a good deal. It is probably much smarter to just buy Beats. If they bought Spotify, they would be stuck supporting Android and Windows customers.

The $3B price probably reflects the current profitability of the headphone line. For what it is worth, audio brands seem to have staying power. I am not sure if the quality criticisms are a positive or negative value signal personally.

Re: Apple Said to Be in Talks to Buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

#50

Post by Scorponok »

jcampbell1 wrote: post #49
abalone wrote: post #44

This makes even less sense than the Square acquisition rumor. 1. Apple has the tech and library to do their own subscription service if they want to. You think they can't do their own licensing deal? They surely don't need to pay $3B to acquire someone else's. 2. Apple wouldn't want to operate a cross-platform service. They'd pay a huge premium to acquire a bunch of Android customers than they'd promptly purge. Plus,…

> You think they can't do their own licensing deal? When you are the richest guy in town it is hard to negotiate a good deal. It is probably much smarter to just buy Beats. If they bought Spotify, they would be stuck supporting Android and Windows customers. The $3B price probably reflects the current profitability of the headphone line. For what it is worth, audio brands seem to have staying power. I am not sure if…

Other services (like spotify) have tended to have clauses in their licenses saying something like "If you get acquired, the deal is cancelled and you have to renegotiate it" so that the record companies can prevent exactly this from happening. I would be surprised if Beats doesn't as well.

That means that it doesn't matter if Apple (or anyone else) buys someone who already has a deal - the previous terms go away and the record companies get to start the negotiations all over again.

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