Apple Reportedly In Talks To Buy Jay-Z Owned Tidal

According to a new report out of the Wall Street Journal. Apple is in talks to acquire Tidal the Jay-Z owned streaming service. While specific details are unclear at this point Apple acquiring Tidal would give it a leg up when it comes to negotiating for exclusive streaming rights.

Tidal is currently owned by Jay Z and a variety of other artists including Kanye West, Beyonce, Chris Martin, Jack White, and many more. 

Negotiations between Apple and Jay-Z are reportedly still early and may not result in a deal according to the reports.

Jay-Z initially purchased Tidal for $56 million just over a year ago from Swedish company Aspiro. The rapper gave artists and bands a small stake in the company. The service currently has around 4.2 million paying subscribers.

A Tidal spokesperson has gone on record to said the company has not held talks with Apple.

Apple To Acquire Beats Music & Beats Electronics For $3 Billion

Apple has officially closed on a deal to purchase Beats Electronics for $3B. 

Apple announced the deal in an official press release:
Apple today announced it has agreed to acquire the critically acclaimed subscription streaming music service Beats Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes the popular Beats headphones, speakers and audio software. As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. 

Apple is acquiring the two companies for a total of $3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately $2.6 billion and approximately $400 million that will vest over time.

“Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”

“I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” said Jimmy Iovine. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.”

The deal marks the largest acquisition ever made by Apple including its $400 million deal in 1996 to purchase the company NeXT which brought Steve Jobs back to Apple.

Dr Dre All But Confirmed Beats/Apple Deal

Although we haven't heard an official confirmation from Apple or Beats Electronics about a possible Apple buyout, after news broke that the Apple was going buy music streaming company Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion. Dr Dre, one of Beats’ co-founders seems to have other views about transparency.



Playing around with some other folks, Tyrese Gibson starts out the video with a reference to the Beats/Apple news. “Billionaire boys club for real, homie…. The Forbes list just changed!…”

“In a big way,” rejoined Dr Dre.“The first billionaire in hip hop, right here on the motherf*ckin West Coast!” Dre says, standing behind Tyrese Gibson laughing and hollers off camera.

Shit just got real, yo.

Beats By Cook, Apple Rumored To Buy Beats Electronics For $3.2B

According to the Financial Times, Apple is currently in negotiations to purchase Beats Electronics for a sum of $3.2 billion. The deal could be made as soon as next week, but from what sources state a few terms need to be ironed out first. If the deal goes through for $3.2 billion this would be Apple’s largest acquisition to date. 
Unlike HTC, Apple’s deal would be for all aspects of the company. Which would include hardware, streaming music services, and all that falls under the Beats name.

We'll keep you posted as news comes available, in the mean time what's your take on Apple buying Beats Electronics; leave your comments below?

Dr Dre All But Confirmed Beats/Apple Deal...

Beats Music Launches Jan. 21 For $10 Per Month

Beats Music today announced the pending launch of an online and mobile streaming music service. Beats Music will be available to Android, iOS, and Windows Phone devices for $9.99 per month. The subscription fee grants users unlimited access to 20 million tracks, including streaming and downloads for offline playback. Beats Music will offer dozens of curated music stations, as well as allow consumers to create their own. The service will offer a Just for You function which offers a personalized selection of albums and playlists based on user tastes.

Right Now, which is a continuous playlist made from the user's location, preferences, surroundings, and mood.

 Highlights, which is made from current and culturally aware playlists; and Find It, a search function that pulls out playlists and songs. 

According to Beats, it is paying all artists the same royalties for their music. The service runs on the platform built by MOG, which was bought by Beats Audio in 2012. Single lines can test the service for free for one month, after which the monthly subscription kicks in. Beats Music also announced a collaboration with AT&T. 

Beats Music for AT&T customers will cost $15 per month and targets families or other groups that use Mobile Share plans. Beats Music for AT&T gives up to five people unlimited streaming and song downloads per month. AT&T is offering families a free 90-day trial, but there is no free version of Beats Music it's all or nothing. Potential customers do not need to have Beats headphones in order to subscribe to Beats Music. Beats Music will become available January 21.

Source: Beats Music

Beats Considering Buying Back HTC’s Share

According to the Wall St. Journal, Dr. Dre’s Beats may be considering buying back HTC’s share of the business.

The maker of the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones is looking to buy out its Asian partner and bring in a new investor that can provide it with fresh funds for growth, people familiar with the matter said.

The moves come as the founders of Beats Electronics LLC music mogul Jimmy Iovine and American hip-hop producer and artist Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre are broadening the company’s business from headphones to include speakers, audio systems in cars and consumer electronics and a soon to be launched online streaming music service.

It isn't mentioned in the article but with the much larger Beats partner HP now making Android tablets and possibly phones, there might be some conflict in Beats branding land.  HTC is obviously having some issues financially so maybe the smaller guy is getting edged out and is more willing to take the money and run.