LeBron James and the Rise of Beats By Dr. Dre
The ubiquitous headphones got an assist from the Miami Heat forward
Monday, February 11, 2013
NBA star LeBron James is one of the most famous athletes in the world, so it's not surprising that he's gracing the cover of the new issue of ESPN the Magazine. What is unusual is the guy standing next to him: producer and hip hop artist Dr. Dre.
The story inside details how James' helped make Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which were developed by Dre with record executive Jimmy Iovine, the must-have audio accessory for pro athletes. Now, as ESPN contributor J. Freedom Du Lac explains, Beats have captured more than half of the $1 billion market for headphones.
Plus: consumer electronics company Monster Cable once manufactured the popular headphones, but Beats recently announced the two companies were parting ways. Now, Monster has lined up another celebrity producer. Can Swizz Beatz repeat the success of Dr. Dre? Forbes writer Zack O'Malley Greenburg joins us to talk about his recent story.
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Comments [2]
A correction: We said that Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was often seen wearing Beats headphones during the 2012 Summer Games. In fact, he wore Sol Republic headphones (the company sponsors him). Thanks to our listener Tamara for the catch!
A few years ago when Beats first came I was working at a certain "fruit themed" computer store where staff was offered a very decent discount on the headphones prior to the holiday season which myself and many of the other staff members took advantage of ...only to have most of us return them by the end of January. Beats may be flashy but sound absolutely horrible - they have pretty much no mid range so if you are listening to rock or anything that isnt hiphop and especially if you write and play rock music, Beats are pretty much useless. It would be great to see consumer headphones designed by a more nuanced engineer or producers ear, which is why its surprising that Jimmy Iovine is putting his brand on Beats in the first place.
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