In fact, its last high-profile buy was in 1996, when Apple purchased computer company NeXT and in the process brought previously ousted founder Steve Jobs back to the firm.
Announced last week, the purchase of Beats, which was founded by rapper Dr. Dre and music industry executive Jimmy Iovine, brings into the Apple fold an audio hardware business, including Beats’ popular headphones and the company’s streaming music service.
As Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off in San Francisco this week, Knowledge@Wharton spoke to Wharton marketing Professor Peter Fader about how the company can successfully leverage Beats’ strengths and why the acquisition could prove to be a boost for the entire streaming music space.
*[This article was originally published by Knowledge@Wharton.]
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Apple bought them in an attempt to sure up apple’s struggling music streaming offering. But buying a company known for overly-hyped bad performance hardware is not going to do it. Maybe it will appeal to 14 year olds who like Beats headphones.