It’s been the buzz of the Internet for the last 24-48 hours. Beats Electronic headphones, founded by music mogul Jimmy Lovine and hip-hop legend Dr. Dre, might be acquired by Apple.
If this acquisition happens, Apple will cough up 3.2 billion dollars, making Dr. Dre the first billionaire in hip-hop history. Now why would any company, even Apple, pay 3.2 billion for headphones? Word is Apple is more interested in Beats’ streaming service. Music downloads decreased 5% in the last year. Some annalists say the download era is ending. If that’s the case, then this would be the perfect merge to keep Apple in the music business. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, and Jimmy Lovine founded Beats Electronics in 2006.
If this deal goes down, it’s not like Apple is taking all creativity from Lovine and Dre. It’s rumored that they will take senior positions at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA. Plus, this should be a real milestone for hip-hop. In the 1970s, it was born out of New York City ghettos. Today, it could see the crowning of it’s first billionaire. Plus, Young and Lovine will still have some control over their product. So these are good signs. But there’s another part of me that fills with worry when I hear about this merger, and other mergers. I worry about prices going up, quality and service going down, and the top not giving a care because they know there’s no competition you can go to. Is that what’s going to happen if Beats get sold?