A few years back, a partnership between legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine and hip hop mogul Dr. Dre changed the headphone industry forever with the creation of Beats headphones. Spawning reams of lookalikes, and becoming a near-instant household name, Beats made stylish, bass-heavy headphones an “it” item nation wide. Now the company is hoping to strike gold again, announcing the launch of its anticipated new on-demand music streaming service, Beats Music, in January.
Jumping straight into the fray with established powerhouses like Spotify and Pandora, the service nicknamed “Daisy,” hopes to capture listeners by creating an experience that is more exploratory than current services, providing a selection of musical styles that is both more diverse, and better curated. Beats set out to accomplish its goal by headhunting some of the industry’s top radio programmers and music curators to run its new service, including hiring enigmatic producer/composer and Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, as the service’s Chief Creative Officer.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, other recruits for Beats Music include former Clear Channel executive and LA radio music director Julie Pilat, hip-hop radio host Fuzzy Fantabulous, writer and NPR music critic Ken Tucker, and music mogul and “fourth Beastie Boy,” Ian Rogers, who will serve as the new company’s CEO. In addition to its well-vetted cast of musical minds, Beats also purchased the music streaming service MOG in July of last year, which it has been retooling to its own specifications for next month’s launch.
It’s unclear whether Beats Music will be able to make a substantial impact in the increasingly saturated market of music streaming services. Along with titans like Spotify and Pandora, a litany of other choices exist, including Rhapsody, Grooveshark, Rdio, Google Play, and a host of others. Google owned Youtube is also planning to jump into the mix soon with its own service, that’s also rumored to incorporate video.
Sill, Beats Music seems to have a very clear objective, and the right kind of creative minds in the tank to fashion a service that stands out above the crowd. And just as it did with the headphone industry, the company hopes to bring a generation of listeners closer to the music. We’ll all have to wait till next month to see if Beats Music will deliver on its claims, but you don’t have to wait to sign up for the new service. You can reserve your username at BeatsMusic.com right now.
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