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Why Apple And UMG Could Sink Amazons Prime Music Beats Electronic Apple acquired headphone maker Beats Electronic for $3 billion, including $2.6 billion cash up front and approximately $400 million in stock that will vest over time, in 2014. The deal was one of Apples largest acquisitions ever. The $3 billion purchase price includes Beats Music, the sister company that runs a subscription streaming music service. (AP Photo/Apple, Paul Sakuma) A AMZN +0.08% introduced its long-awaited streaming service, Prime Music, on Thursday to much fanfare. As it entered a crowded space ready to do battle with the likes of Spotify and Google GOOGL +0.12% , industry observers were quick to note that, with more than 20 million subscribers already in place, Jeff Bezos ’ new audio toy immediately became one of the largest paid music services in the world. But Amazon ’ s offering may already be destined to fail, thanks to the actions both recent and — historical —of a major competitor: Apple AAPL -1.09% . That ’ s because Prime Music is essentially an incomplete product, launched without the participation of Universal Music Group, one of the world ’ s three major recorded music companies alongside Sony Sony and Warner Music Group. The absence of Universal, which easily boats the largest market share of music among the three, means that Amazon won ’ t offer tracks from the likes of Lady Gaga, Kanye West and many others. There are a handful of factors that could be holding UMG back from working with Amazon, and according to a number of industry insiders, one of them could be its connection to Beats By Dr. Dre and subsequently, Apple. Through its Interscope label, UMG became an early equity holder in Beats —which, like Interscope, counts Jimmy Iovine a