The much talked about deal between Apple Inc. and Beats Electronics finally went down Wednesday, leaving Dr. Dre with a hefty check and a new seat at the executives table at Apple. Wednesday’s announcement almost comes as a surprise as the deal was recently rumored to be a stalemate after negotiations were leaked three weeks ago. With the official acquisition of Beats, Apple also welcomes two new executives.
According to sources, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will be key in Apple’s music divisions, though their roles haven’t been determined yet. Soon Iovine will be making his transition from label exec to Apple exec as he hands over the keys to Interscope, one of the music industry’s top labels.
As far as Dr. Dre goes, this deal may have just landed him in the Billionaire Boys Club. However, according to Forbes, the deal may leave Dre just short of that 10-digit net worth.
Apple CEO Tim Cook had this to say Wednesday as he spoke with USA TODAY.
“Apple will be doing some great things in the near term that are exciting, and you’re going to love them. But today’s announcement is about the long term,” Cook says. “Dre and Jimmy bring us the artists’ lens. We’ve had that from a relationship point of view, but there’s nothing like having that under our roof, that expert ear of audio. So when you take all of those intangibles, you get excited.”
With the acquisition of Beats, Apple adds swag to their image, Dre and Iovine add a comma to their net worth, and consumers like you and I add more to our shopping list.
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