Beats Audio purchases MOG for $14 million

We’ve heard rumors over the past few months that HTC had bought MOG, and today the news surfaced that it has finally become official. HTC, through its subsidiary Beats Audio, has bought up MOG for $14 million. This number is a little surprising at first since MOG raised $33 million throughout its entire existence. The low number could be the result of Beats Audio splitting up MOG into two separate companies. Beats will take control of the core audio service while the ad and music blog will remain how it currently is. This was definitely a win for HTC as it will give it  them the much needed dedicated music service so that they can compete with Samsung’s Music Hub app and Apple’s iCloud. If HTC correctly integrates MOG’s services into its devices along with Beats Audio, it could be a great combination that would give customers another reason to buy their phones. What do you think? Would things like this be a deciding factor when purchasing a smartphone?

 

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Beats Electronics’ Jimmy Iovine expresses interest in music subscription services, HTC rumored to have bought MOG, a music subscription service,

Beats buyout of MOG worth $14 million, splits company not-so-neatly into two

MOG player

More official details are emerging from Beats Electronics’ acquisition of MOG, and they paint a considerably messier picture of the deal than we saw just a day ago. HTC (which has a big stake in Beats) has confirmed that the move into streaming music was worth $14 million — not a whole lot considering that MOG had raised $33 million through its entire independent lifetime. The low price might come as the result of Beats being very surgical with its deal. The Jimmy Iovine- and Dr. Dre-founded outfit is taking control of the core audio service as a separately-managed company, while the ad and music blog components are mostly left untouched. MOG’s loss of independence is coming on a very ignominious note as a result, but it could be good news for subscribers anxious about the service’s future as well as HTC phone owners wondering just where Sense UI’s Beats integration might go next.

Beats buyout of MOG worth $14 million, splits company not-so-neatly into two originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Unwired View, The Next Web  |  sourceHTC  | Email this | Comments