Beats thoughts, part 1

iBEATS: Apple execs underscored the importance of music to the company's "DNA" as the Beats deal was announced today, and rightly so—iTunes and the iPod were instrumental to the company's revival in the early years of the millennium. For the first time, however, the company will have its own subscription streaming service, something Steve Jobs resisted during his illustrious tenure. Where will Beats Music fit into the Apple ecosystem? We envision it as part of a suite of content options to flow through Apple's forthcoming "smart home" and smart watch, as well as through wearable gear to be developed in tandem with Team Beats. If so, Apple can leverage the gear to build the subscriber base and vice versa, and Beats Music will be the only streaming sub service with its own dedicated devices. Until the advent of the Spotify Zune, that is. (5/28p)