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Trent Reznor, Dr. Dre Plan Summer Launch for Streaming Service

Beats will feature hand-curated playlists

Trent Reznor, Dr. Dre
Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Simon Burchell/Getty Images
February 13, 2013 12:00 PM ET

Trent Reznor and Dr. Dre plan to release their Beats Electronics streaming service this summer, Billboard reports. Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M and Beats' co-founder, announced the upcoming launch yesterday at the AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference, where he highlighted the service's planned reliance on hand-picked curation. "We are making tons and tons of curated lists," said Iovine. "If you go the gym, we'll know where you are. So when you wake up in the morning, there will be a list waiting for you."

The State of Streaming Music

Beats, which was previously codenamed "Daisy," already has 100 people lined up to create the custom playlists, but Iovine made clear the selectors won't be celebrities. "Not famous," he said. "They're people who know how to make lists. They're real pros."

But Beats does boast Reznor as chief creative officer, and the Nine Inch Nails leader is overseeing the service's curation. Beats will also use algorithms to offer personalized playlists for individual listeners. Beats seeks to "marry math with emotion," according to Iovine, but currently "there are only mathematical solutions."

Iovine was unclear on how much the Beats service would charge listeners, but hinted that the price would be in line with other streaming services: "$10 a month or whatever it is," he said.

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