Apple Execs Reportedly ‘Outraged’ Over Video Leaking Beats Deal

apple-beats

A few weeks ago, Financial Times broke a story which said that Apple is in talks to purchase Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion. Sources reportedly told the publication the deal would be announced on the following Tuesday, at the latest.

The deal to acquire Beats would possibly be a play to allow Apple to jump right into the streaming music subscription service, since iTunes Radio doesn’t seem to be doing as well as the company hoped. A few weeks after they reported the acquisition, we still have no official information from either Apple or Beats saying that the deal is being discussed or that it will happen.

Well, Monday and Tuesday passed and we were assured the deal would actually be announced early this week. By early this week we were told it would now be announced next week. We, like other outlets, have been reassured the deal is happening…or as close to definitely happening as any source is willing to say given they’re speaking on background.

dr dre beats tyrese.pngYinka Adegoke at Billboard published a new story today citing five factors that are holding up the Apple-Beats deal. Apparently after Dr. Dre released that video on actor Tyrese Gibson’a Facebook page, Apple executives were outraged over leaks of the Beats deal. Here are five reasons Adegoke thinks the acquisition has been held up:

  1. “It’s Complicated.”
  2. “They Leaked the News Too Early.”
  3. “That Video Freaked Them Out.”
  4. “How Will Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre Fit In?”
  5. “The devil’s in the deal terms”

If the report is correct in saying that Apple executives are upset at the leaked video, it could be possible that it will affect the end result of any talks that are occurring between Apple and Beats Electronics. John Gruber of Daring Fireball writes:

That they’ve been so wrong thus far makes me disinclined to believe anything Billboard (or The Financial Times, or The Wall Street Journal, or anyone else who reported the deal as imminent back on May 8) reports about it now… Anyone who thinks “Apple is suffering a crisis of confidence right now” doesn’t understand Apple at all. No wonder Billboard has botched the story on this acquisition.

Do you think the reports of an Apple-Beats deal are correct? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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