I think the key to this deal was the Beats brand. Apple was facing a very difficult task in trying to modernize/redefine the iTunes Store. They attempted to bol

I think the key to this deal was the Beats brand. Apple was facing a very difficult task in trying to modernize/redefine the iTunes Store. They attempted to bolt on various new things like Ping, iTunes Match, iTunes Radio, etc but it ended up being a convoluted mess. Too much legacy baggage there. I suspect Apple will preserve the Beats brand and use it as the launching pad for all their next-generation media services/products. iTunes Store will continue on as the place you go to buy things while Beats will clearly be the place you go to stream things.