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Beats co-founders lose $25 million royalty lawsuit
The long-running feud between Beats and claimed co-founder Steven Lamar appears to be winding to a close. A jury has told Beats luminaries Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine to pay Lamar $25.2 million in royalties for breaching a contract. Lamar contended that he played a key role at the company and deserved $130 million for working on a dozen headphones. Beats recognized Lamar's early involvement, but insisted that he was only supposed to get money for the original Beats Studio (which, of course, had already been paid).
Jimmy Iovine reportedly plans reduced role at Apple Music
In January, rumors surfaced that Jimmy Iovine would be leaving Apple Music later this year, but he denied the reports, saying there was still more he would like to do in the music streaming business. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Interscope Records and Beats co-founder will be scaling back his involvement with Apple Music starting in August. Sources close to Iovine say that he'll transition to a consulting role and will no longer be involved with daily operations.
Netflix will stream HBO’s ‘The Defiant Ones’ outside of the US
Netflix might make headlines for securing its latest show, but its documentaries have been powerhouses in their own right; Last year, The White Helmets won the streaming service its first Academy Award. But the company is just as open to securing non-fiction content from other providers. On March 23rd, Netflix subscribers outside the US and Canada can watch The Defiant Ones, the HBO documentary miniseries chronicling Dr. Dre's and Jimmy Iovine's decades-long partnership.
Jimmy Iovine denies reports he will leave Apple in August
Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine has squashed rumors that he's leaving his post as Apple Music chief -- and leaving Cupertino altogether -- in August. At a Q&A event held to promote The Defiant Ones, the HBO documentary delving into his partnership with Dr. Dre, he announced that there's still more he'd like to achieve in the streaming biz. "I am committed to doing whatever Eddy [Cue], Tim [Cook] and Apple need me to do, to help wherever and however I can, to take this all the way," he said, contradicting Bloomberg's report that he hasn't been getting along with services chief Eddy Cue.
Jimmy Iovine is reportedly leaving Apple Music this year
One of the main reasons why Apple purchased Beats might leave the company this year. According to Hits Daily Double, Billboard and Bloomberg, Apple Music chief Jimmy Iovine is already preparing for his exit sometime in August after he gets his final payout from Cupertino's $3 billion Beats purchase. Iovine, a famous producer and Interscope Records' co-founder, created the audio company with Dr. Dre back in 2006. He headed Apple Music after Beats' acquisition, but he has a long history working with the iPhone-maker and is often cited as one of the key players who made iTunes and the iPod possible.
Apple Music's new film chronicles Bad Boy's hip hop legacy
Apple Music's latest documentary is all about Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records. From the looks of the trailer below, it will chronicle the label's ascent and downfall -- in many ways, mirroring Combs's career -- and will of course touch on the death of Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. Last night at the Billboard Music Awards, Diddy debuted the trailer and spoke a bit about Biggie's legacy. Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story comes from Live Nation Productions, an offshoot of the concert-promoter/ticket-seller/venue-owner amalgam.
Apple says it won't be buying Tidal anytime soon
A few months ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was in acquisition talks with Tidal, a music streaming service helmed by Jay-Z as well as a number of prominent musicians. Yesterday, however, those rumors were shut down. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Jimmy Iovine, the head of Apple Music, said: "We're not looking to acquire any streaming service." He did not indicate that there weren't any talks, but it does seem that a Tidal acquisition is off the cards, at least for now.
Jimmy Iovine thinks women need help finding music
I was wondering to myself just the other day: Man, it is so hard to find music. I don't know how to turn on the radio. I don't know how to search for songs on Google. I don't know how to launch iTunes on my computer. I just don't know how to do a lot of things. Thankfully, Jimmy Iovine, the head of Apple Music, is here to help. Apparently it's all because I'm a woman. My boobs must drain a lot of brain cells! In an interview on CBS This Morning earlier today, Iovine said about the streaming service: "Women find it very difficult at times to find music, and this helps make it easier."
Apple is reportedly trying to poach artists from Jay Z's music service
The streaming music business is getting particularly cutthroat, it seems. According to Billboard, Apple exec Jimmy Iovine has been trying to lure the first-tier musicians from Jay Z's artist-owned Tidal service (possibly for an upcoming streaming option) by paying them "more money upfront." Jay Z isn't directly confirming the rumor, but he isn't exactly denying it, either. He explains that a poaching attempt just reflects Iovine's "competitive nature" and that the two have talked about their rival offerings. The rapper claims that he's trying to make nice, and that he doesn't "have to lose in order for you guys [at Apple] to win" -- he sees the two sides trying to help artists. That may be true, but something tells us that Apple isn't about to make life easy for a direct competitor... especially one whose emphasis on exclusives and special deals could hurt Apple's bottom line. [Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Roc Nation]
Apple's music service may fight Spotify with exclusives, not price
Subscription streaming music services are everywhere now, so what can Apple's potential offering bring to the table? Combining many previous rumors and adding on a few twists, a New York Times report puts Trent Reznor in a "major role" redesigning the Beats Music app into a stronger Spotify rival, with a focus on obtaining content that would be exclusive to Apple services. The Financial Times suggested former Beats exec Jimmy Iovine is driving those deals, as it hopes to push a service that won't have a free streaming tier like Spotify. The word is that despite trying to undercut rivals, it will probably have a similar subscription price. As far as the when this will all happen, the rumors still claim it will ride along with an upcoming iOS update, codenamed "Copper." At the same time, former BBC Radio One DJ Zane Lowe is said to be a big part of a refashioned iTunes Radio that targets listeners depending on their region. That's probably for the best, so that Apple Store staff aren't forced to give us playlist tips along with fashion advice.
Monster sues Beats and HTC for fraud over their headphone deal
The rivalry between Beats and its former ally Monster just got particularly bitter. Monster is suing Beats, its founders (Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine) and HTC for allegedly tricking it into giving up one of its best-known headphone lineups. According to the lawsuit, Beats committed fraud when it acquired the Dr. Dre audio range through HTC's investment. It supposedly repurchased enough stock after the HTC deal that it could sever its ties with Monster due to an ownership clause, leaving the latter high and dry with no real warning. Monster also believes that its ex-partner was misleading when it claimed in September 2013 that there was no "liquidity event" (that is, a major transaction) coming within one to two years -- Apple's acquisition of Beats clearly involved a lot of money trading hands. If Monster chief Noel Lee had known that the Apple buyout was looming, the lawsuit reads, he wouldn't have reduced his stake in Beats and missed out on the resulting windfall.
Beats is either 'in talks' with Apple over new music-streaming service, or it's just very good at marketing
Excuse us, but we find it hard to swallow some of the hype that swirls around the Beats brand. That sounds harsh, maybe, but it's borne out of experience. Anyway, we do trust Reuters, and that outlet claims to have it on good authority that Beats is "in talks" with Apple over a partnership involving the forthcoming Daisy music-streaming service that was formerly MOG. The word is that Tim Cook attended an "informational" meeting with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine and "expressed interest" in his business model -- whatever that is -- and that Apple's head of Internet products, Eddy Cue, was also present. In news that is very much related, Beats has also revealed that it's managed to generate enough buzz around the $12 million acquisition of MOG to raise a further $60 million in investment to help it to launch the rebranded and hopefully expanded service as a separate entity later this year. It'll be interesting to see how the newcomer plans to tackle the already-entrenched competition, possibly with curated playlists and other MySpace-style ideas, and we're fully prepared to eat our skeptics' hats if it succeeds.
Beats Audio CEO told Jobs to launch subscription music service
Beats Audio CEO and Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine has told AllThingsD that he "spent about three years" trying to convince Steve Jobs that Apple should launch its own subscription-based streaming music service. Iovine recounted the effort while talking about his own upcoming music service, Daisy, which has musician Trent Reznor as its chief creative officer. Iovine says that he and Jobs became close in the early 2000s and collaborated on several marketing projects, but that he was never able to fully convince the Apple founder that subscriptions would work. Jobs, he says, remained concerned about pricing, refusing to pay what the record labels were asking for their content and believing that they would eventually come down to Apple's offering price. We've been covering Apple's rumored music subscription plans for some time, and for a while there it was looking like things were getting more serious in 2012. Some believe that with subscribers to services like Spotify and Rdio on the rise, it's only a matter of time before Apple joins the pack. [Via The Verge]
HTC developing music streaming service, wireless boombox?
After having already acquired a stake in Beats Audio, HTC is reportedly looking to expand its reach even further, with the help of a new music streaming service. That's according to a report from GigaOM, which cites unnamed sources "familiar with the company's plans." These plans apparently include a new line of tablets and handsets, along with the aforementioned streaming service, to be spearheaded by Jimmy Iovine -- Beats head and Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M. Details, of course, remain scarce, but GigaOM's sources say that the service will be included as a default client in HTC's handsets and tablets, and that it could launch as early as this month, at Mobile World Congress. The idea, apparently, is to differentiate Peter Chow's company from its competitors, and it's one that's been in the works for quite some time. Insiders say the manufacturer is planning to launch a new tablet at this year's MWC, as well, and is reportedly working on a new, Bluetooth-controlled wireless boombox. We'll have to wait a bit longer to see whether any of this actually plays out, but we'll certainly be keeping close watch over it.
Beats Electronics' Jimmy Iovine: 'we have got to get to the phone'
The HTC teleconference announcing its $300 million partnership with Beats Electronics just wrapped, and we were able to grab a few tidbits that weren't so clearly evident in last night's press release. The largest questions HTC CEO Peter Chou and Beats head honcho Jimmy Iovine fielded were focused on the effects of the purchase and why it happened. Neither Chou nor Iovine shared many specifics, but we learned that the two companies will be deeply committed in a "special" and "exclusive" relationship, which Iovine referred to as a "marriage." In discussing the possible deal, he mentioned that Beats felt a need of urgency to penetrate the mobile marketplace and were bent on making it happen with HTC: "we have GOT to get to the phone...this marriage expedites that process." Computer and phone companies alike are realizing that they need to upgrade the (currently subpar) audio experience in their products, he said, and we should expect to see many of these businesses launching stellar improvements in sound quality over the next three months. In answer to what HTC is looking for in terms of ROI, Chou discussed the desire to have more differentiation in the market, in terms of the branding and technology the purchase will bring to its products; he also told us that the investment will generate several hundred millions of dollars in return beginning later this year. Rather than solely focusing on headsets, HTC plans to integrate the Beats tech completely into the product portfolio. Exactly how extensive that consolidation will be remains a mystery for now; since the effects of this deal will come to fruition sometime this fall, however, we doubt we'll have to wait terribly long to find out.