Beats Enters the Streaming Music Industry with "Daisy"

Beats Electronics, best known for its headphones named for co-founder Dr. Dre, is stepping into the streaming music business after accumulating a $60 million investment for its latest venture codenamed "Daisy." With their eyes set on a late 2013 launch, "Daisy" would mark Beats' first foray into territory dominated by services like Spotify and Rdio. According to All Things D, streaming subscriptions for iOS and Android devices will most likely run about $10 per month.

To set itself apart from its competition, Beats' co-founder Jimmy Iovine said that "Daisy" would seek to integrate a cultural component into the service, something he felt was lacking from current options available to consumers. Though the nature of that aspect of "Daisy" remains somewhat murky, Iovine said:

“What’s missing from the digital music landscape is a cultural context. We need to bring an emotional connection back to the act of music discovery. With Trent Reznor and now Ian, we have the right team in place to do it.”

Reuters recently reported that Iovine and Apple CEO Tim Cook met to discuss a possible collaboration with regards to streaming music services. Though little is known about the nature of their discussion, it's possible that Apple and Beats might join forces to build a streaming service to function alongside iTunes that incorporates "Daisy."

Funding for "Daisy" was spearheaded by Russian billionaire Len Blavatnik of Access Industries (which owns Warner Music Group), Mark Rowan, James Packer, and Lee M. Bass. Beats had had a busy year securing capital and expanding its services. Since its contract with Monster Cable expired in 2012, Beats has been responsible for manufacturing its own products. Last year, the company also acquired MOG a premium music subscription service that served as a sort of developmental template for "Daisy." Though we have few details on the project thus far, it'll be interesting to see how Beats sets itself apart from its streaming music rivals.

Melissa Grey is a lover of all things cats, comics, and outer space. She can be found on MyIGN at MelissaGrey or lurking on Twitter @meligrey.

Source : ign[dot]com