The dust is still settling after last week’s news that Apple has officially wrapped up its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, but the Cupertino-based company might’ve already made its first move in the potential re-branding of Beats. Ian Rogers, the CEO for the fledgling Beats Music service, has reportedly been placed in charge of Apple’s iTunes Radio service, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move could signify Apple’s first step toward revitalizing Beats’ floundering music service.
Rogers, who has put in work as a music executive at Yahoo and as CEO at TopSpin (a social marketing platform for musicians), will be in charge of harmonizing Apple’s music-streaming choices now that it’s absorbed Beats’ assets and resources, according to the WSJ’s sources familiar with the matter. Apple has yet to confirm or deny the rumors that the Rogers appointment could amount to the first step in its fusing of iTunes Radio with Beats Music.
iTunes Radio is a free streaming radio service that builds and brings together stations for the user based on listening habits (ad-free with a $25/year iTunes Match subscription). The Siri-supported service is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV. Beats Music is designed to supply its users with “the perfect music for each moment,” but so far that mission statement hasn’t translated to a loyal user base. The service provides “unlimited access to over 20 million tracks,” with help from “expert curators” to pick the right tunes, and a function that lets you assign playlists to specific activities such as dancing or entertaining.
But one of Beats Music’s biggest drawbacks is its lack of a free, ad-supported version (apart from the free trial the service currently offers), and this may be the area that would benefit the most from Apple’s purchase of Beats. But this early on, all we can do is watch and wait.
