Rap's best-known producer masterminded the bass-heavy Beats sound.
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Ideally, Reznor says, users will never have to use the search function because Beats' proprietary mix of software and programmed playlists will keep suggesting the right music for a particular moment. "It was a conscious decision really to keep [it] simple," Reznor says. "Making it fun, making it joy-filled, taking this concept of the miracle of music showing up in your pocket." In other words, Beats wants to become your music-obsessed friend who is always recommending great new albums.
Iovine and Beats Music CEO Ian Rogers, a veteran of several online music ventures, think people will pay to have a friend like that. "This whole thing of curation isn't really tech companies' game," Iovine says. "All these services are built completely off algorithms. The songs they give you one after the other really have nothing to do with each other in the emotional sense."
If Beats Music sticks to its pledge to be entirely subscription based, it will need roughly 5 million users to pull a profit after covering licensing costs, estimates Roger Entner, a telecom analyst with Recon Analytics. Industry observers say the curated experience of Beats Music could be attractive to a national audience that still heavily depends on the radio to find its music. "It has the potential to be the biggest thing since Spotify," says Entner.
One thing is certain: Beats will be spending to make sure consumers know about the service. AT&T will also provide a massive marketing boost, since it will be collecting subscription fees directly from customers. "We know how to market things you've never heard of before," boasts Iovine. "We know how to break Lady Gaga on $400,000 in every country in the world."
It's true: Lady Gaga, who signed to Interscope in 2007, has sold about 24 million copies of her first two albums worldwide. But her most recent release, November's Artpop, has sold fewer than a million. An old-school record man like Iovine knows that even the brightest stars can fizzle. The only question is whether Beats Music will extend his hot streak or end it.
--With reporting by Noah Rayman