Renaming Beats 1 is likely the first step in the demise of the Beats brand

As of Tuesday, Beats 1, the flagship global radio station, was renamed Apple Music 1. I wasn’t surprised, and suspect it’s the beginning of the end of the Beats brand.

On May 28, 2014, Apple announced its intention to acquire Beats Electronics for US$3 billion—with $400 million to be paid in Apple stock and the remainder in cash. The acquisition closed on August 1, 2014. 

Apple is expected to debut its own over-the-ear headphones that will purportedly be dubbed “AirPods Studio.” If/when this happens, the tech giant will be selling them alongside headphones bearing the logo of its Beats subsidiary. 

I’ve long said that I don’t see the logic in having Apple-branded AND Beats-branded over-the-ear headphones since Apple owns Beats. I suspect the tech giant is going to drop the Beats brand in the near future and have all its audio products simply carry the Apple logo. Renaming Beats 1 is likely the first step in this process.