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| Dr Dre |
Apple is close to paying a record $3bn (€2.1bn) for Beats Electronics, sources said, an expensive foray into music streaming and headphone gear that would mark a departure for the usually cash-conservative iPhone maker.
Both
companies are hashing out details and the envisioned deal could still fall
through, sources said.
Apple is
reportedly in the market for a subscription-based music service to complement
its 'iRadio' ad-based offering.
Founded by
rapper Dr Dre (right) and legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine, Beats
Electronics is best known for its 'Beats by Dr Dre' line of trendy headphones
that vie with the likes of Skullcandy, Sennheiser Electronic and Bose.
This year,
it launched a music service that has won plaudits for its slick design and
human music curation, versus the computer-algorithms that determine playlists
for most of its rivals.
Beats
established a base in Ireland in 2012 by setting up Irish-registered companies
despite not having any known operations in this country. Its Irish-registered companies
have no employees, but they do have directors based here. Unlike Apple, which
is based in Cork city, Dr Dre opted to base his venture in the rural town of
Clonakilty.
But analysts
questioned whether Beats, valued at just $1bn during its last funding round in
September, was worth the $3bn price.
Apple-watchers
have speculated that the company that upended the music industry – and today is
the single largest seller of tunes – was contemplating a Spotify-like on-demand
music service to go with iRadio and iTunes.
Irish Independent 
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