Beats Electronics, LLC is a producer of audio products and equipment headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The company was founded by hip-hop producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine, and primarily produces products under the brand Beats by Dr. Dre.
Its products were manufactured under exclusive license by consumer electronics company Monster Cable since 2009. Beats has not renewed its five year contract with Monster, which ended late 2012. The company now manufactures all of its products themselves.
The company was founded in 2006, and debuted its first product Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones, in late 2008.[2]
In August 2010, mobile phone manufacturer HTC acquired a 50.1% majority share in Beats for $309 million, before selling 25% back to the founders for $150 million, and remaining the largest shareholder with 25.1 percent,[3] in order to provide "flexibility for global expansion while maintaining HTC’s major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile."[4] The purchase was intended to allow HTC to compete with other cellphone makers.[4] The purchase also granted HTC exclusive rights to manufacture smartphones with Beats-branded audio systems.[5] Despite its majority acquisition, HTC would still allow Beats to operate as an autonomous company.[5] In July 2012, HTC sold back nearly half of its stake in the high-end headphone maker for $150 million. HTC said in an e-mailed statement that it would still be the largest outside shareholder in Beats after the share sale and the two companies would continue to work closely, including a joint global marketing campaign later that year. “HTC and Beats today announced a realignment of their business agreement that provides Beats with more flexibility for global expansion while maintaining HTC’s major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile.........Under the terms of the agreement, the founding members of Beats will buy back 25 percent of its total shares for a total of approximately 75 percent ownership, with HTC remaining the largest outside shareholder with approximately 25 percent,” HTC said in the statement.
On January 12, 2012, BusinessWeek reported that Beats and Monster would not renew their production contract and would be ending their partnership by the end of 2012.[2] Monster began to market its own line of headphone products at the start of the year, aiming towards an older demographic, women, and business professionals.[2]
In March 2012, reports surfaced that Beats was planning to acquire the online music service MOG. The acquisition was officially confirmed on July 2, 2012, reported to have been between $10 to $16 million. Beats chose to acquire MOG due to its use of high quality streams for its music library—which supports Beats' aim to create "a truly end-to-end music experience." The acquisition did not include the company's blog and advertising network, the MOG Music Network,[6][7] which was sold in a separate transaction to the radio and online media company Townsquare Media in August 2012.[8]
Personal Audio
Beats' original product line were Beats by Dr. Dre headphones. In promotional materials, Dr. Dre outlined the line's advantages by alleging that listeners were not able to hear "all" of the music with most headphones, and that Beats would allow people to "hear what the artists hear, and listen to the music the way they should: the way I do."[9]The following is a list of their products:
| Type | Product name | Endorser |
|---|---|---|
| Headphones | Beats Pro | Dr. Dre, Lil Wayne |
| Beats Pro Detox (Discontinued) | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Studio | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Executive | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Wireless | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Mixr | David Guetta | |
| Beats Solo (Discontinued) | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Solo HD | Dr. Dre | |
| JustBeats Solo (Discontinued) | Justin Bieber | |
| Earphones | Beats Tour | Dr. Dre |
| PowerBeats | LeBron James | |
| Heartbeats (Discontinued) | Lady Gaga | |
| Heartbeats 2.0 | ||
| Diddybeats (Discontinued) | P. Diddy | |
| JustBeats iBeats (Discontinued) | Justin Bieber | |
| urBeats | HTC Corporation | |
| iBeats (Discontinued) | HTC Corporation | |
| Speakers | Beatbox | Dr. Dre |
| Beatbox Portable | Dr. Dre | |
| Beats Pill | Dr. Dre |
Beats Audio
Computers
Alongside Beats headphones, the company has also licensed the Beats brand, under the name Beats Audio, and technology to other manufacturers. In 2011, HP began to offer personal computers equipped with Beats Audio systems. The system features a software equalizer with a preset allegedly optimized for higher quality sound output.[10] Originally reserved for its premium Envy line of laptops, HP now offers Beats Audio in nearly all of its laptops, all-in-one TouchSmart desktops, and tablets.Vehicles
Beats also partnered with Chrysler, incorporating a 10-speaker Beats by Dr. Dre sound system in its 2012 Chrysler 300S luxury automobile.[11] Since the Chrysler 300 debuted the collaboration, Chrysler has begun offering Beats Audio in other models, including the Dodge Charger and North American version of the Fiat 500.Phones
In 2012, Beats by Dre is listed as a partner of the (RED) campaign, together with other brands such as Nike, Girl, American Express and Converse. The campaign's mission is to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child by 2015 (the campaign's byline is "Fighting For An AIDS Free Generation
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| One of Beats product |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beats_Electr
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| The logo of Beats Electronic |
