Apple's Eddy Cue to join Beats' Jimmy Iovine on stage at Code Conference panel

After Apple announced its purchase of Beats Electronics and Beats Music on Wednesday, iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine have been scheduled to talk at Re/code's Code Conference later today.

Following Apple's bombshell Beats announcement, Re/code reported that it has replaced Apple SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi with Beats co-founder Iovine in a Code Conference panel that will also feature Cue. The original plan included only Cue and Federighi.

As of this writing, it is unclear if Federighi has been bumped or will show up in a later interview.

At $3 billion, Apple's Beats buy is the most expensive in company history and has raised more than a few eyebrows. In question is why Apple, which has the resources necessary to roll out a subscription music service and hardware comparable to Beats' products, would spend the money to acquire what is essentially a brand.

Some have floated the idea that Apple is after Iovine and Dr. Dre, who will take positions at Cupertino in the near future. Iovine, for example, will be working full-time under Cue, though his exact role has not yet been fleshed out.

It is unknown what questions Re/code's Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher will ask of the iTunes head, but AppleInsider will be providing full coverage of the event that kicks off at 8 p.m. Pacific.