Beats by Dre, the fabulously successful head(phone)shop, is branching out, as this two-page ad in Monday’s New York Times announced.

Lefthand page:

Righthand page:

How soon?

From TheNextWeb:

Beats says its new Beats Music streaming service will launch ‘within the next few months’ in the US

Beats will launch its long-awaited music streaming service, Beats Music, “within the next few months” in the United States. Luke Wood, president and COO of the company, told TNW that it will be accessible on the Web, as well as from an iOS or Android device. Support for Windows 8, presumably through a dedicated app, will arrive at a later date.

Beats acquired MOG, another music streaming service, for $14 million in July last year. The company was already working on Beats Music before the buyout, but subsequently accelerated the project’s internal development.

GigaOM discovered in August that playlists were being touted as a core part of the Beats Music experience. Freelancers had been commissioned to compile thousands of these centered around a particular artist, activity, or the general mood of the listener. Wood corroborated this report: “We’re going to focus really heavily on playlists, because that’s how we consume music and that’s how most people consume music.”

Beats Music will compete with “established brands such as Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer,” along with newcomers Microsoft, Google, and iTunes Radio, the last of which has had a disappointing debut.

We’ll see how Dre for Pay does in the very near future.