It’s been rumored for months, but today Beats Electronics officially announced that the company founded in 2008 by rapper-producer Dr. Dre and Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine is acquiring on-demand digital music service MOG.
Considered a competitor to Spotify, MOG is Beats’ first acquisition and terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the Los Angeles Times puts the dollar figure at $10 million, according to a source. Beats, which manufactures high-quality headphones and sound systems, also boasts partnerships with HP, Chrysler Group and HTC Mobile.
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In a statement announcing the deal’s July 2 closing, Beats president and COO Luke Wood said, “It was never about just headphones. We’ve expanded the Beats mission to every other link in the music experience chain — speakers, mobile phones, personal computers and automobile sound systems. With MOG, we are adding the best music service … for the first truly end-to-end music experience.”
For now, MOG and its library of 15 million songs will continue to function independently with no changes to its service. The company’s advertising-focused Mog Music Network, is not part of the sale.
Says MOG’s David Hyman, who founded the company in 2005 and will take the title of CEO of MOG reporting to Wood: “The fit feels perfectly natural.”
Twitter: @THRMusic
