>I'm willing to bet anything this is going to be seen as where Apple's golden age began to wane.

I would argue that they've already been left behind on the music front. iPods are dead, no one wants to buy tracks on iTunes for $1.29, iTunes Radio was too little, too late. A lot of Apple fans are proudly using Spotify or other services on their iPhones. Heck, even the musicians associated with Apple are getting uncool.

So, at least a Beats acquisition is something.