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Apple wants to own the entire music chain from beginning to end. The hardware player, a software/mobile player, the store, the streamer, the radio, the intellig
by subdane 12y ago
Apple wants to own the entire music chain from beginning to end. The hardware player, a software/mobile player, the store, the streamer, the radio, the intelligence (Topsy), and the output speakers. It's interesting to imagine winamp for mobile - if Apple creates the best music player on Android and iOS then all its other services fall into place. Iovine is one of the few folks that can get an exclusive deal done with content owners and he understands marketing in a way no one at Apple currently does. Granted the Beats music player needs a lot of work. But the deal only looks weird if you don't know the personalities involved and don't see the company's end game to create/own the best music experiences everywhere.
- jackgavigan 12y ago> Apple wants to own the entire music chain from beginning to end. No, they don't. They want to own the pieces of the chain where they can make greater profits than anyone else. Apple products aren't successful because celebrities wear them. They're successful because they're the best. Apple doesn't buy other companies for their services or products. It buys technology, which it then uses to build better products and services.
- coralreef 12y agoInteresting, but this is a $3.2b acquisition, which is clearly not just a technology buy.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- baldfat 12y agoWhen you say best you mean better then anything else? I find it hard to find many BEST that are Apple products.
- omegote 12y ago> They're successful because they're the best. lol. If that were the case, then I don't understand what kind of technology they're gonna benefit from buying Beats. I mean, the internet is full of reviews stating that Beats headphones suck.
- uvTwitch 12y ago*They're successful because the end consumers believe the marketing propagation that they are the best.
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoAnd yet, Apple has a very low marketing budget with respect to their competitors...
- batiudrami 12y agoIs this actually true? I've heard Galaxy marketing is fairly saturated in the US, but in Australia I see at least twice as many Apple commercials than any competing OEM.
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoThis is quite well known, just a quick google will do: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/11/04/apples-advertising-budget-dwarfed-by-microsoft-and-samsung/ http://www.tuaw.com/2013/11/04/apples-advertising-budget-dwa... I think Apple recently doubling their marketing budget to $1b was taken with great fanfare, but still puts them far behind their competitors. However, it is an open question whether Apple stores should be counted as marketing or some other kind of expense. It definitely helps promote their products, but the direct channel also helps with profits.
- uvTwitch 12y agoAre you also saying, like I was, that apple are Good At Marketing?
- seanmcdirmid 12y agoWell, they don't put a lot of resources into it, but they direct their resources very well. Their biggest marketing boon has been curating a really good reputation (not releasing products that suck), building a rabid fan base, and so on.
- exstudent 12y agoPart of my aversion to this rumored deal is just what you say... Why should a technology company that's created a excellent product (iPod/iPhone) have to kowtow to a decaying old media industry by buying one of their "insider" executives? Apple has all but made music an irrelevant industry. Kids today don't identify with music like past generations and Apple's lost its marketing grip if it thinks they do. A teenager feels today about Instagram as yesteryear's baby boomers felt about The Beatles. Only this time it's even more powerful because the kids themselves are the stars.