Apple
Inside the Partnership of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine
Some analysts have speculated that the reason behind Apple’s recent purchase of Beats Electronics wasn’t to acquire the brand itself, but rather its leaders, Dr. Dre and former Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine. The six-time Grammy-winning producer and industry heavyweight have been the driving force behind the company since founding it in 2008, and this summer, they launched an academy at the University of Southern California with the goal of inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The Wall Street Journal recently wrote an in-depth article about Dre and Iovine’s business relationship and what they’re hoping to achieve with the program, to which they donated $70 million. Here’s what we learned from the piece:
Iovine started from the bottom.
WJ: “Iovine was the head of Interscope Records for two and a half decades where he helped oversee the careers of U2, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and the Black Eyed Peas. At 19 he got a job sweeping the floors at a Manhattan recording studio, and from there worked his way into a gig as a recording engineer for John Lennon. Within a few years, he was engineering albums for Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty.”
Dre’s engineering on The Chronic is what initially impressed Iovine.
JI: “I wasn’t a fan of hip-hop … They were playing me hip-hop because Interscope was going to be in the hip-hop business, but it all sounded muddy to me. I’m a recording engineer—it just offended me sonically. Then Dre brought in his record, and it sounded as cool as Pink Floyd or Sgt. Pepper’s. I said, ‘Who mixed this?’ and he said, ‘Me.’ And I said, ‘No, no, but who engineered it?’ And he said, ‘Me!’ And I said, ‘OK, I’m getting into business with you.’”
Beats by Dre started with a chance run-in on the beach.
WSJ: “Iovine was in Malibu, at his friend David Geffen’s house, when he decided to go for a stroll. He happened upon Dr. Dre, who was out on the balcony of his own house nearby. Dre told him he’d been approached a few days earlier by an athletic company about doing a shoe line; his lawyer wanted him to do it, but Dre wasn’t sure. (‘I’m not into fashion,’ he says. ‘I wear the same s— every day.’) He asked Iovine for his thoughts. Iovine’s immortal response: ‘F— sneakers—let’s make speakers.’”
Their business relationship is built on mutual trust.
JI: “We just trust each other … He’s as good a producer and engineer as Michael Jordan is a basketball player. He has an incredible patience that I don’t. And he’s a good touchstone for me. Every time we start going off one way, he’ll say, ‘Nah, man—we’re getting corny.’”
Iovine thinks some tech companies are out of touch with culture.
JI: “We wanted to build a school that we feel is what the entertainment industry needs right now … There’s a new kid in town, and he’s brought up on an iPad from one and a half years old. But the problem with some of the companies up north [in Silicon Valley] is that they really are culturally inept. I’ve been shocked at the different species in Northern and Southern California—we don’t even speak the same language. The kid who’s going to have an advantage in the entertainment industry today is the kid who speaks both languages: technology and liberal arts. That’s what this school is about.”
Related: Apple’s CEO Tim Cook Explains Beats by Dre Acquisition
Native Instruments Compatibility with OS X Yosemite
Native Instruments sent the following email today about Apple’s new OS X Yosemite operating system:
“Native Instruments has conducted compatibility tests with Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite which have shown current NI products to work without any specific issues under standard installations of this operating system.
However, products with a hardware dependency, such as MASCHINE, KOMPLETE KONTROL, TRAKTOR, GUITAR RIG, and Controller Editor will not launch when the AVID CoreAudioManager/Drivers are installed under 10.10 Yosemite. Native Instruments and Avid are working together to resolve this compatibility issue.
Native Instruments is currently conducting further systematic compatibility and performance tests with the release version of Yosemite, and will provide new information as it becomes available.”
Have you experienced any issues with a Native Instruments product and OS X Yosemite? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Related: Serato Issues Statement Regarding OS X Yosemite
Serato Issues Statement Regarding OS X Yosemite
Serato has issued an official statement regarding compatibility issues with Apple’s newly released OS X Yosemite operating system:
“We don’t anticipate any issues with Serato software and OS X 10.10, but we won’t be able to officially support it until we can complete full and proper testing. As we haven’t been able to start this testing until the full public version was released, official support will not be immediate.
We are unable to give a timeframe for official support at this time.
We are happy for users to test our software on OS X 10.10 but suggest it not be used in performance situations until we are certain of its reliability. If you do experience issues with Serato software when using OS X 10.10 Yosemite, please open a help request to report all the details.”
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook Explains Beats by Dre Acquisition
During a recent interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was asked why he acquired Beats by Dre. In addition to wanting to work with the creative minds of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, Cook said he saw value in their music subscription service, Beats Music.
“They [Beats by Dre] recognized that human curation was important in the subscription service — that the sequencing of songs that you listen to affect how you feel. It’s hard to describe, but you know when you feel it.”
Apple Confirms Purchase of Beats for $3 Billion
Following weeks of speculation, Apple has officially announced that it’s purchasing Beats Electronics and its music streaming service Beats Music for $3 billion.
Beats founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple as executives, according to Billboard. There specific roles haven’t been been revealed though.
Rumors that Apple was in talks with Beats were first reported nearly three weeks ago. Since then, the industry has been waiting for an official statement from either company despite a celebratory video featuring Dre and Tyrese:
Many analysts believe that Apple is acquiring Beats in an effort to compete with music streaming services such as Spotify. While iTunes currently dominates the music-download market, streaming is considered the future by most industry experts and Apple hasn’t had an answer to it — until now.
Beats Music was launched in January and is said to have 200,000 subscribers. While their subscription numbers pale in comparison to Spotify’s 10 million, Apple’s database of more than 800 million credit cards could help make them a formidable competitor.
Written while listening to Doc Jnr’s Dr. Dre Mix
Apple in Talks to Buy Dr. Dre’s Beats Electronics
Apple is reportedly in the final stage of negotiations to acquire Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion, according to Financial Times. The report says that the deal hasn’t been finalized yet but could be announced next week.
If the deal is signed at the reported price, it would be the largest ever for Apple.
Beats Electronics was founded in 2006 by Dr. Dre and music industry mogul Jimmy Iovine. Originally a headphones manufacturer, Beats launched a music subscription service in January which competes directly with Spotify.
In April, Forbes released its annual list of hip-hop’s top earners, with Diddy taking the crown and Dre following in second place. However, there’s a good chance that Dre will surpass Diddy if the deal with Apple goes through.
We’ll continue to update this story as it unfolds.
Related: Dr. Dre Sues Death Row Records Over Unpaid Royalties
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