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 Read into it what you will: Apple is staying coy about its math behind the $3 billion acquisition of Beats, but Beats Music -- the headphones company's fledgling subscription-streaming music service -- got the first shout-out in the computer maker's release about the deal. "We can see the strategic value in having talent" like Dr. Dre and Iovine join the Apple team, ISI analyst Brian Marshall said in a note, adding that Beats' nascent subscription business can bolster iTunes Radio. Close Beats Electronics LLC Beats by Dr. Dre headphones are displayed for sale at a store in... Read More Close Open Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg Beats Electronics LLC Beats by Dr. Dre headphones are displayed for sale at a store in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. He was right, for a long time -- download sales in the US grew every year for a decade. Beats Music 
 
 A central part of the deal’s allure is the Beats Music service, which highlights how serious the Cupertino, California-based company is about its own music-subscription service. Subscription services have been around since Rhapsody launched in 2001, but Apple co-founder Steve Jobs referred to the model as "bankrupt" and insisted "people want to own their music." Apple has consistently been dismissive of subscription music services like Beats Music, which launched in January with the model that $9.99 gets you all the music you want to hear for a month. Cue also said that products to be introduced later this year are the the best pipeline Apple has had in 25 years. “They have done a hell of a job in branding,” McGuire said. PrivCo, a provider of financial data on private companies, estimates Beats Electronics made about $1.02 billion in revenue last year for a profit of $40 million, which was weighed down by debt payments linked to private equity firm Carlyle Group's leveraged investment last year and big dividend payouts to Dr. Dre, Iovine, and Vivendi, a corporate backer through its Universal Media Group. Universal Music said yesterday that John Janick, chief operating officer and president of Interscope Geffen A&M, would succeed Iovine as Interscope chairman.
– Apple has made the biggest buy in its history—and made Dr. Dre the richest man in hip-hop history. The company has confirmed that it is buying Beats Electronics for $3 billion, down from the $3.2 billion discussed earlier this month, reports Bloomberg, which notes that Apple is sitting on enough cash to have bought the headphone and music-streaming firm 50 times over and CEO Tim Cook appears ready to use the money pile more aggressively than predecessor Steve Jobs ever did. Dre has a 25% stake in the firm and the deal puts him close to being rap's first billionaire, the BBC notes. So what's in it for Apple? The company appears to be paying a "star-struck valuation" for a cool company, one analyst tells CNET, saying the price tag appears too high unless Apple has a secret strategy like "expanding into headphones used as wearable tech." But Cook says the buy was a "no-brainer" and while Apple could easily have built a similar streaming service, the talent at Beats Electronics is the most exciting part of the deal. "These guys are really unique," he tells the New York Times. "It's like finding the precise grain of sand on the beach. They're rare and very hard to find."