Over the past few weeks, since Apple announced it was purchasing Beats Electronics for $3 billion, the tech industry has been abuzz over Apple's highest profile acquisition in more than 15 years. The move has received a myriad number of responses and has seen experts and analysts weigh in on whether the buy was a good deal for Apple and Beats.
Some have argued that the purchase is an aggressive move into the music sharing and electronics sector, where Beats has become the leader in smartphone sound and listening devices. However, others have argued that Apple is making a "defensive" posture in order to shore up its value and add a company that is impressive and already functioning at a high level.
According to Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um, the goal of the purchase was to push Apple into the forefront of the tech industry and within the music streaming and sound sector.
But music mogul Jimmy Iovine believes that he and fellow founder Dr. Dre's Beats Electronics was a company that deserved a grand acquisition, and Apple agreed.
While the merger has left pundits and observers questioning and debating the purchase, asking whether it was a good move by Apple, it appears that Iovine and Dr. Dre are much more accommodating than other companies acquired.
"What time should I show up for work?" Dr. Dre joked with Apple's software engineering director, Craig Federighi, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco last week.
At WWDC, marketing Professor Peter Fader said that Apple will be able to leverage Beats' strengths into new functionality and can prove to be a boost for the music streaming industry as a whole and not solely for Apple's purpose.
If not properly, he said, the merger could help to innovate and deliver new ways of streaming and sharing music in today's fast-moving tech space.
Overall, most analysts agree that bringing Iovine and Dr. Dre into the Apple fold is likely to be a huge coup for the company's efforts in music. Dr. Dre has never shied away from going after what he believes is the right thing, fighting against censorship and has been instrumental in bringing hip hop music to the mainstream.
The new collaboration, other analysts argue, should help to bring a new, unique voice, to the upright and proper Apple community. In many ways, the merger can be viewed as one of forward thinking in order to get more innovative means with music onto numerous platforms and devices.
