Why Apple Really Needs Dr. Dre's Headphones

Whoever visits an Apple store nowadays will find many headphones from different manufacturers. Why does Apple therefore need Dr. Dre’s headphones? Apple will offer over $3 billion to Beats Electronics, the company founded by Dr. Dre. He would become the richest rapper alive. Something like that is only possible in America. By the way, “Fuck tha Police” is the song that made Dr. Dre popular in the 80s.

Of course, Apple does not need these headphones, which are particularly good at sending deep bass waves into the ears. Rather, Apple has its eyes set on Beats Music, Dr. Dre’s music streaming service, where users, by paying a monthly fee, can listen to as many songs as they wish. Today, Apple still earns a great deal of money by selling music via the iTunes online store.

Yet, business will shrink. Subscription services, such as those being provided by Spotify which is currently leading the market, are showing more interesting growth rates. Apple has jumped on the bandwagon very late. At first glance, this is not necessarily surprising. No one is interested in cannibalizing their own business. Anyone paying a monthly flat rate for music no longer buys songs on iTunes. This is why Apple is reacting so late to the trend.

Apple’s Own Mistakes

This also demonstrates that Apple has not learned from its own history. Until recently, the company always stood on the attacking side and revolutionized its branches in order to keep its business models. The music industry is itself the best example of this. For a long time, music producers have simply feared the Internet. Apple is now paying the price for a late start.

The backlog can be caught up with, as music subscription services are still relatively small. Yet, Apple should treat this as a warning sign not to let the future creep on it. It is always best to create the future yourself.