I've seen this sentiment a few times and find it fascinating. We find it justifiable for Facebook to spend $19bn on a messaging app with very little revenue yet I read Beats will make around $1bn in revenue this year (+ they have huge margins) and $3bn is difficult to justify.
Here I think the question is what the value of Beats is to Apple. Last year Apple's revenue was £170bn so I don't think they're looking at Beats to give them an extra 0.5%.
Of course the other side of that is with Apple's cash pile being what it is there is almost no financial risk to the acquisition so how much justification does it need?
I did read the entire thing. I don't think the brand matters too much, my point was the profit they're making justifies the price regardless of the brand. And my point was address not specifically to the parent but to the point that the valuation can't be justified which I've seen in several places hence my first sentence: "I've seen this sentiment a few times".