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Apple Seeks To Regain Cool With $3B Beats Buy

CUPERTINO, Calif.( CBSMiami/AP) —  Apple says it will acquire headphone and streaming music company Beats Electronics for $3 billion, making it the most expensive acquisition in Apple's 38-year history.

The company made the announcement Wednesday,May 28th which confirms earlier reports of an imminent deal.

It's the price that the company is paying to counter a threat posed to its iTunes store.

The growing popularity of music streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify has been reducing sales of songs and albums, a business that iTunes has dominated for the past decade.

Apple Inc. broke into music streaming with the launch of iTunes Radio last September, but the Beats deal is a sign that the service hasn't been a big hit.

Beats launched its streaming service earlier this year to supplement its trendy line of headphones.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

 

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