Is This the End of the Apple Brand As We Know It?

Pretty dumb argument.

Beats' increasing dominance of the premium headphone market and Apple's worldwide retail footprint is likely to see much of the $3 billion cost being negated over the years.

Which then leaves you asking if getting a popular streaming service overnight with a reported hundred plus curators and the unquestionable value of Iovine and Dre is worth it. Given that control over media is vital to Apple's strategy (across all their devices) I would argue yes.