Apple's acquisition of Beats could shake up music biz - New York Post

Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats Electronics could reinvigorate the tech titan — and shake up the music industry by boosting valuations of some companies, one music industry heavyweight told The Post.

The sale of Beats, co-founded by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, will form “a bridge between Apple and the music industry and help align their interests in getting behind subscription streaming in a big way,” according to Sony Music CEO Doug Morris.

“[Jimmy’s] dream is to take streaming music global and he created an enormously successful company” with Dr. Dre, Morris said in an interview Wednesday after Apple announced its purchase of Beats.

The announcement said both Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple’s payroll.

“I hope you are as excited as I am about this new chapter in our history,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a memo to employees.

The memo confirmed The Post’s exclusive story on Tuesday that the deal would come in at $3 billion and be announced this week.

Apple will shell out $2.6 billion cash — with an additional $400 million to vest over time.

“They made Apple look cool,” noted Morris, something even Apple seemed to acknowledge in its release. Apple gave props to the team’s ability to get Beats headphones into the heart of pop culture in under five years, noting that customized versions of the headphones have been created by Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj.

“This is going to cause a lot of excitement and re-evaluation of record companies. It’s a rebirth of the record business,” said Morris, a good friend of Iovine, who first brought the music mogul’s Interscope label to Universal in the 1980s.

“I realized [Jimmy] is one of a few special people and gave him the opportunity, and that’s where Beats came from,” added Morris commenting on his friendship. “He’s now my richest friend.”

Iovine was one of the original supporters of Apple’s iTunes store and was friendly with the late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Iovine, 61, is the chairman of Universal Music Group’s Interscope Geffen A&M.

After Morris led Universal’s investment in Beats, it was retained and nurtured by UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge through a variety of possible buy-out scenarios from HTC and Sony Electronics, among others.

“Based on mutual trust and respect, UMG’s singular relationship with Jimmy permitted his innovation to flourish in all these ways,” Grainge said in a statement.

Iovine, who held a 25 percent stake in Beats, is now worth $970 million, according to Forbes. Dr. Dre is worth up to $800 million.

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