Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats was finalized this morning, and it’s up to Apple to determine what will happen to the hundreds of remaining Beats employees it hasn’t laid off.
Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine have already said that they’re joining Apple, and now it’s being reported that the head of Beats Music, Ian Rogers, will oversee iTunes Radio as well.
Apple has stated in the past that it will keep Beats Music running as an independent service on both iOS and Android. Rogers was previously the CEO of Beats Music, and before that he was an executive at Yahoo.
Rogers will presumably report to Apple’s Eddy Cue, who oversees all of the company’s internet software and services. The hardware division of Beats will report to Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing.
Apple has not given any special titles to Dr. Dre or Jimmy Iovine, although it has been reported that Iovine will help with Apple’s in-house marketing efforts. Trent Reznor, who was an executive for Beats Music, is staying on as part of the acquisition.
With Rogers being in charge of both the subscription-based Beats Music and free, ad-supported iTunes Radio, it will be interesting to see both services evolve. The Beats Music app was recently updated with new features, and iTunes Radio continues to add exclusive pre-release album streams from big artists.
If you’re interested in learning more about Rogers, check out this profile of him by Billboard.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
