Following weeks of speculation and high anticipation, Apple announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to buy both Beats Audio hardware and Beats Music for $3 billion.
As part of the deal, both two founders of Beats, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will join Apple as yet undisclosed executive roles.
The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter with Apple paying $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock.
This news comes as no surprise as the tech giant looks to bolster its presence in the lucrative streaming music sector that has experienced a surge in the U.S. seeing a jump of 39 percent to $1.4 billion, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Apple's online software and services chief Eddie Cue said in the press release: "The addition of Beats will make our music lineup even better, from free streaming with iTunes Radio to a world-class subscription service in Beats, and of course buying music from the iTunes Store as customers have loved to do for years."
Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has confirmed with the Financial Times that Beats Music will continue to be made available and operate as before on Android and Windows Phone after the deal goes through.
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