Noted marketing and branding genius Kanye West said in an Adweek interview published today that the recent deal between Apple and Beats Electronics only came about because Apple rival Samsung inked a deal with Jay Z. In Kanye’s view, this makes all the sense in the world.
According to West, who is a dedicated Apple fan and dislikes Samsung, the Korean phone maker earned substantial “cultural credibility” with the public when it signed a promotional deal with hip hop artist Jay Z last year. Oh, and that time Kanye joined Jay Z at a Samsung-funded concert a few months ago probably helped, too.
West says that without Samsung’s deal, the California tech giant would have never have considered purchasing the headphone manufacturer and its associated music streaming service that directly competed with Apple’s own offerings.
West also said:
OK then.
For what it’s worth, Tim Cook once noted that Apple has been talking to Beats for a decade or so now. It hardly seems plausible that the acquisition happened solely because Samsung held up a beacon and showed Apple the path to credibility.
