Beats music sued by former executive amid possible sale to Apple

Published May 17, 2014
Colombia's track cyclist Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas uses a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones at the Velodrome during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 3, 2012. — Reuters Photo
Colombia's track cyclist Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas uses a pair of Beats by Dr. Dre headphones at the Velodrome during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 3, 2012. — Reuters Photo

Beats Electronics, which is close to being sold to Apple Inc for $3.2 billion, has been sued by the founder of a music service Beats bought two years ago claiming he has been cheated out of his share of the company.

David Hyman, the founder of the music subscription service MOG Inc, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in Los Angeles superior court claiming he was purposely terminated so that Beats could avoid granting him his equity stake in the company.

Hyman claims that as part of the agreement Beats made to buy MOG in 2012, he would have been granted, over a period of time, 2.5 percent of the outstanding equity interest in Beats if the company reached a market value of $500 million or more. But Hyman was terminated less than a year after the deal, which prevented him from "receiving the fruits and benefits" of the transaction, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which makes claims for breach of contract, is seeking $20 million in damages.

A Beats spokeswoman had no comment.

Rapper Dr. Dre and legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine, the founders of Beats Electronics, were not named in the lawsuit.

Opinion

Editorial

Ukraine initiative
Updated 21 Feb, 2025

Ukraine initiative

Whether Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative succeeds or not, it will be difficult for Kyiv, Europe to face Russian military machine without US support.
High cost of SOEs
21 Feb, 2025

High cost of SOEs

THERE are losses and then some. The finance ministry’s latest overview of the federally owned state enterprises...
Poor impression
21 Feb, 2025

Poor impression

RECENT developments in the Senate have provided cause for concern on how parliamentary business is being conducted....
Premature alarm
Updated 20 Feb, 2025

Premature alarm

Improvement in headline inflation gives policymakers chance to fix investment policies, implement structural reforms.
Forsaken province
20 Feb, 2025

Forsaken province

AND the endless cycle of violence continues. The brutal killing on Tuesday night of seven Punjab-bound passengers in...
In poor health
20 Feb, 2025

In poor health

THE absence of decent and affordable healthcare in the country continues to ruin lives. An example of this is ...