????三周前就有傳言，現(xiàn)在終于得到了官方證實(shí)：蘋(píng)果公司（Apple）以30億美元收購(gòu)音樂(lè)耳機(jī)制造商Beats。

????Beats聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人吉米?艾歐文在周三發(fā)表的一份聲明中表示：“我內(nèi)心一直都認(rèn)為，Beats應(yīng)該屬于蘋(píng)果?！?/p>

????業(yè)內(nèi)人士似乎也同意這種觀點(diǎn)，盡管蘋(píng)果對(duì)Beats的出價(jià)可能過(guò)高，但收購(gòu)這家公司是一個(gè)聰明的決定。

????高德納（Gartner）分析師范?貝克稱：“在某種程度上，他們購(gòu)買的是品牌價(jià)值，是在年輕嘻哈一代中的市場(chǎng)地位?！笔聦?shí)證明，相比中年消費(fèi)者，蘋(píng)果產(chǎn)品更難打動(dòng)嘻哈一代。

????市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷公司DCA Growth Advisors創(chuàng)始人、品牌專家迪恩?克拉奇菲爾德贊賞蘋(píng)果公司的這筆收購(gòu)，因?yàn)樗且粋€(gè)大膽的舉措。蒂姆?庫(kù)克擔(dān)任蘋(píng)果CEO三年之后，終于走出了前任史蒂夫?喬布斯的光環(huán)。低調(diào)的庫(kù)克帶領(lǐng)蘋(píng)果公司對(duì)iPhone、iPad和Mac電腦進(jìn)行了多次升級(jí)。但除了相對(duì)較小的調(diào)整之外，他沒(méi)有在蘋(píng)果公司身上打上太多屬于自己的烙印。

????收購(gòu)Beats改變了這種情形。到目前為止，蘋(píng)果還沒(méi)有進(jìn)行一筆幾十億美元的收購(gòu)。相反，蘋(píng)果只是購(gòu)買了一些小公司，然后吸收他們的人才?？死娣茽柕卤硎荆瑔滩妓箍赡茉?jīng)嘗試開(kāi)展音頻與音樂(lè)流媒體業(yè)務(wù)。但他的選擇不會(huì)是收購(gòu)Beats，而是在內(nèi)部為Beats培養(yǎng)一個(gè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手。

????克拉奇菲爾德說(shuō)：“我認(rèn)為，喬布斯是以蘋(píng)果為中心；相反，庫(kù)克會(huì)說(shuō)：‘我們?nèi)ナ召?gòu)一個(gè)品牌吧?！?/p>

????蘋(píng)果收購(gòu)Beats打破了音頻與音樂(lè)流媒體行業(yè)的現(xiàn)有格局。但業(yè)內(nèi)的高管正在從正面的角度看待新的世界秩序。個(gè)人音頻設(shè)備制造商V-Moda公司的CEO瓦爾?康頓認(rèn)為，蘋(píng)果的這筆收購(gòu)對(duì)于整個(gè)耳機(jī)市場(chǎng)是好事。雖然有一段時(shí)間面臨Beats的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，但他的公司從2004年至今共賣出了超過(guò)500萬(wàn)部“高端”耳機(jī)。

????康頓解釋說(shuō)：“Beats是一家大公司，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)成為一個(gè)深入人心的品牌，而這一點(diǎn)也有助于我們的增長(zhǎng)?！?/p>

????蘋(píng)果公司將要面臨的挑戰(zhàn)是，在今年年底之前交易結(jié)束之后，如何保持Beats對(duì)消費(fèi)者的吸引力。雖然蘋(píng)果是全球第二大最有價(jià)值品牌【它最近被谷歌（Google）超越】，但一些傳統(tǒng)的Beats用戶可能并不喜歡自己的耳機(jī)被科技巨頭納入囊中。

????分析師貝克將其總結(jié)為蘋(píng)果公司的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷挑戰(zhàn)。青少年和二十歲左右的年輕人不會(huì)像他們的父母一樣癡迷蘋(píng)果產(chǎn)品。

????“最初傳出蘋(píng)果收購(gòu)Beats的傳聞時(shí)，一位年輕消費(fèi)者一語(yǔ)道破天機(jī)：‘誰(shuí)會(huì)買一副印著蘋(píng)果商標(biāo)的Beats耳機(jī)??？’”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????We heard the rumors three weeks ago, but now it's official: Apple is buying music headphone maker Beats for $3 billion.

????"I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple," Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovinesaid in a statement on Wednesday.

????Industry insiders seemed to agree that while Apple (AAPL) may have overpaid for Beats, buying the company was a savvy decision.

????"To a certain extent they're buying some brand equity, some positioning in the market with the younger generation, with the hip-hop generation," said Van Baker, a Gartner research analyst. It's a demographic that has proven to be a tougher sell for Apple than middle-aged customers.

????Dean Crutchfield, a branding specialist and founder of marketing firm DCA Growth Advisors, lauded Apple's acquisition simply because it was a bold move. After three years on the job, Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, has finally set himself apart from his from his predecessor, Steve Jobs. Cook, an understated business-type, had overseen Apple through a few upgrades to its iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. But he hadn't really left much of an imprint on the company aside from relatively minor tweaks.

????Buying Beats changes that equation. Until now, Apple has never made a multi-billion dollar acquisition. Instead, it has generally bought small companies and absorbed their talent. Jobs would have probably have tried to do the same in the audio and music streaming business, Crutchfield said. Rather than buying Beats, he would have tried to build a rival in-house.

????"I think Steve Jobs was Apple-centric, but Cook said instead, 'Let's buy a brand,'" Crutchfield said.

????The Beats acquisition dramatically reshapes the audio and music streaming industry. But executives in the space are trying to cast the new world order in a positive light. Val Konton, CEO of personal audio maker V-Moda, called Apple's acquisition a good thing for the headphone market in general. His company has sold over 5 million "high-end" headphones since 2004, while competing, at least part of that time, with Beats.

????"Beats is big and really has become a ubiquitous brand, and that's helped us to grow, too," Konton explained.

????The challenge for Apple lies in maintaining Beats' allure with consumer long after the deal closes, as it is expected to do by the end of the year. Apple may be the world's second most valuable brand -- recently trumped by Google -- but some traditional Beats customers may not like the idea of the tech giant owning their headphones of choice.

????Baker, the analyst, summed it up as a marketing challenge for Apple. Teens and twentysomethings aren't necessarily as enthusiastic about Apple's products as their parents.

????"A young person voiced it perfectly to me when the rumors first surfaced: 'Who wants to buy a pair of Beats headphones with an Apple logo on it?'"