After weeks of rumors and speculation, it's now official: Apple has acquired Beats Music and Beats Electronics for a total of $3 billion.

“I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Beats, said in a press release obtained by MTV News. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.”

Iovine, a veteran music industry record executive, co-founded the company in 2008 with Dr. Dre. Now, following its purchase, the two will join Apple.

Beats initially built up its brand and name through headphones -- from in-ear options to powerful studio-ready versions. After that, other products, including speakers, hit the market. Then, earlier this year, the company launched a music streaming service, which allows users to access an immense library of music once they've signed up. The company tapped a number of experts to create playlists across genres, while it also includes other features like "The Sentence" -- which has been making its way into a number of rap videos recently, from Schoolboy Q's "Studio" to Wiz Khalifa's "We Dem Boyz."

“Music is such an important part of Apple’s DNA and always will be,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in the release. “The addition of Beats will make our music lineup even better, from free streaming with iTunes Radio to a world-class subscription service in Beats, and of course buying music from the iTunes Store as customers have loved to do for years.”