Nothing has been bigger news in the past week in tech-space let alone for the famous fruit company than Apple buying out Beats headphones by Dr. Dre. Now we know Beats are a huge name that is primarily the biggest brand in the modern era of headphones that are big bulky and seen as a style to have on instead of the smaller ear buds. Anyway, what started as just rumors then turned into more when Dre himself allegedly leaked out in not so many words that all this business talk is happening. If you know Apple as well as I do that is all the information I need to know the deal was just around the corner and now that is exactly what is said. The deal will be for 3.2 billion dollars and it is all but a done.
Technology companies have no problem throwing away huge chunks of money so from that perspective there is no point scratching your head about the deal for too long. However, today I have found our from reading up on some Redmond Pie news that it runs out the face of Cupertino Steve Jobs and Dr. Dre have a history together before Steve got ill and passed away several years ago. Back in those days Beats were only a small start-up and although already popular it is fair to say they would not have been valued anywhere near what they are now.
Because I do not know what Apple plan on doing with the music-wear I will not judge. For all, we know they might be using it for another project. It is hard to imagine they needed to buyout the brand to find out how they worked, all they have to do is pull the speakers apart and take a look. But sometimes it is easier to just buy off a company that already has the existing pieces all put together instead of thinking you know how to set it up yourself. It could be the main reason we have seen this deal and not Apple starting up their own brand of head assets.
When push comes to shove we will find out soon enough and it is hard to argue the importance of having an already cool brand name behind you instead of using your own. Half the time its the name that sells in the first place. Take a look at the way expensive clothes sell when they are made very cheap overseas next door and from the same quality machines as the brand people refuse to wear. There’s style, there’s the name and there’s not much else. Style is another important factor. Like smartphones, you cannot just create an existing product again, yours need to look different. When you can do anything to beat the way the real thing looks you can only buy them out.
If the acquisition does happen Dre will be the first rap mogul to become a billionaire. He has been very in recent years and the only way I have kept up with him is knowing of his inner geek.
Anyway, here is the video of Dre and Mr Jobs chatting about iTunes: