Beats Music team will report to Eddy Cue, Beats Electronics team to Phil Schiller

Tim Cook to Apple employees: Beats Music team will report to Eddy Cue, Beats Electronics team to Phil Schiller

Right after officially announcing its whopping $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics and Beats Music earlier today, Apple CEO Timothy Cook penned a love letter to all Apple employees at Cupertino.

Cook sounded emotional and nostalgic, writing that Apple’s history in music began with selling Macs to musicians.

“Music holds a special place in our hearts at Apple, and we know that we can make an even bigger contribution to something that is so important to our society. That’s why we have kept investing in music and why we’re bringing together these extraordinary teams — so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world,” writes Cook.

The 53-year old CEO then brought Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre into the picture, calling them music industry pioneers and key partners for Apple. Cook also praised Iovine for his contribution in launching iTunes many years ago.

The internal memo, which had been published first by 9to5Mac, also revealed Cook lauding Beats Music, saying that it is the first music streaming service to get it right.

“We think it’s the first subscription service to really get it right. Both Apple and Beats believe that a great music service requires a strong editorial and curation team, and we will continue to expand what we do in those areas,” Cook said.

Mr. Cook also confirmed that the Beats Music team will be reporting directly to Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services.

Meanwhile, Beats Electronics will be operating under Phil Schiller’s leadership. Schiller is Apple’s SVP of Marketing.

Why put Beats’ headphones business under Schiller? Well, Apple considers marketing as a crucial aspect of its business. It is why Apple is successful. Check out Tim Cook’s memo to Apple employees below.

Team,

This afternoon we announced that Apple is acquiring Beats Music and Beats Electronics, two fast-growing businesses which complement our product line and will help extend the Apple ecosystem in the future. Bringing our companies together paves the way for amazing developments which our customers will love.

Music is an important part of our lives and our culture. Music has the power to inspire us, to comfort us, and to send our emotions soaring. It brings people together and transcends the limits of spoken language.

Apple’s history in music began with selling Macs to musicians. That remains important to us today, but we also bring music to hundreds of millions of customers with iTunes, which is at the forefront of the digital music revolution. Music holds a special place in our hearts at Apple, and we know that we can make an even bigger contribution to something that is so important to our society. That’s why we have kept investing in music and why we’re bringing together these extraordinary teams — so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.

Beats co-founders and music industry pioneers Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple, along with their team of employees. Jimmy has been on the cutting edge of innovation in the music industry for decades, including as a key partner for Apple in the launch of the iTunes Music Store more than ten years ago. He has produced or collaborated with some of the most popular artists in history, and been an important contributor to the success of the iTunes Store.

Beats Music was built with deep respect for both artists and fans. We think it’s the first subscription service to really get it right. Both Apple and Beats believe that a great music service requires a strong editorial and curation team, and we will continue to expand what we do in those areas. The addition of Beats will make our incredible iTunes lineup even better, extending the emotional connection our customers have with music.

The Beats Music team will report to Eddy. The teams will be getting to know each other better in the weeks ahead, and we are very excited about the possibilities for the future.

Beats Electronics has become the brand of choice for headphones and speakers in both the music and sports world, just five years after its launch. They are among the most popular and highest-rated third-party products sold today in Apple’s retail and online stores. We see an incredible opportunity to bring Apple’s legendary design and engineering capabilities to these popular products under Phil’s leadership.

Please join me in welcoming Beats to Apple. I hope you are as excited as I am about this new chapter in our history.

Tim