iTunes to absorb Beats in 2015

Apple will make its biggest move yet into the streaming market, with a relaunch of its Beats Music as part of iTunes next year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the tech giant has a clear focus on streaming following reports of its digital download sales. Last week Apple reported iTunes has suffered a 14% revenue dip in 2014 to date despite the service’s record third-quarter sales, which were at $4.6 billion, up from $4.3 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

Apple announced its acquisition of Beats Electronics in May, purchasing the streaming service and headphones manufacturer for $3.25 billion. In September, Apple denied reports which suggested it would shut down Beats Music but did allude to changes, including that of the brand name.

The Australian market is still awaiting the launch of Beats Music, however the territory is believed to be the second market. In January, Telstra’s head of Sport and Entertainment, Ryan Kaveny, said in a Telstra CrowdSupport forum that Beats will take over streaming service MOG, which is backed in Australia by Telstra.

"Beats Music will eventually replace MOG as a product, we are likely to launch Beats later this year (pre June 30) and will be the 2nd country in the world to do so," said Kaveny in the post.