The purchase was intended to allow HTC to compete with other cellphone makers by associating themselves with the Beats brand, as the purchase also granted HTC exclusive rights to manufacture smartphones with Beats-branded audio systems. In August 2010, mobile phone manufacturer HTC acquired a 50.1% majority share in Beats for $309 million. HTC purchase and non-renewal of Monster contract Beats' use of endorsements by musicians helped the company aggressively target the young adult demographics. To promote its products, Beats primarily relied on endorsements by pop and hip-hop music performers, including product placement within music videos, and partnering with musicians and other celebrities to develop co-branded products. Beats initially partnered with Monster Cable, an audio and video component manufacturer based in Brisbane, California, to manufacture and develop the first Beats-branded products, and debuted its first product, Beats by Dr. It's another thing to destroy the feeling of what I've worked on.' Iovine sought the opinions of musicians with 'great taste', such as M.I.A., Pharrell Williams, will.i.am, and Gwen Stefani during the early developmental stage. Iovine recalled that Dre said to him: 'Man, it's one thing that people steal my music. Iovine perceived two key problems in the music industry: the impact of piracy on music sales and the substandard audio quality provided by Apple's plastic earbuds.

Dre and record company executive Jimmy Iovine. On August 1, 2014, Apple acquired Beats for $3 billion in a cash and stock deal, the largest acquisition in Apple's history.īeats was established in 2006 by music producer Dr. Concurrently, Carlyle Group replaced HTC as a minority shareholder, alongside Dr. The company reduced its stake to 25% in 2012, and sold its remaining stake back to the company in 2013. įor a period, the company was majority-owned by Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. for headphones priced higher than $100, and the brand was valued at $1 billion in September 2013. In 2011, NPD Group reported that Beats' market share was 64% in the U.S. In 2014, the company expanded into the online music market with the launch of a subscription-based streaming service, Beats Music.

Following the end of its contract with the company, Beats took further development of its products in-house.

The company's original product line was manufactured in partnership with the AV equipment company Monster Cable Products. The subsidiary's product line is primarily focused on headphones and speakers. Since 2014, it has been an Apple subsidiary. The company was founded by music producer Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California. Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr.

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