Last May, Apple announced that it has just acquired Beats, the electronic company behind the famous headphones. According to Business Insider, the $3.2 billion deal is Apple's "largest acquisition ever." With the purchase, Apple now has the rights to Beats' products, including the trendy headphones and speakers which always make an appearance in popular music videos.
But a new report by Financial Bio suggests that it really wasn't the headphones Apple was after, but the man behind them: Jimmy Iovine. Iovine is a veteran record producer, with a career in the music industry spanning more than four decades. He's also the founder of Interscope Records, the company responsible for launching the biggest popstars in the music scene. Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Nicks, John Lennon, Madonna, Lady Gaga--just to name a few--all give credit to Iovine.
With the deal, Iovine will start working at Apple full time. Aside from his contacts, his genius and expertise in music may be what the multi-billion price tag was buying for.
In an internal memo obtained by 9to5mac, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, "Both Apple and Beats believe that a great music service requires a strong editorial and curation team, and we will continue to expand what we do in those areas. The addition of Beats will make our incredible iTunes lineup even better, extending the emotional connection our customers have with music."
Aside from Iovine and the headphones, the $3 billion also paid for Beats Music, a streaming music service similar to Spotify. While it only has about 200,000 users compared to Spotify's reported 10 million, it will be exciting to see how Apple will integrate Beats' services to its Apple Music and iTunes.
