BOC Brands: Beats By Dre

forbes.com

Andre Young, better known as Dr Dre, has created a product with a cult fallowing. Young used his status and reputation as a perfectionist to launch Beats by Dre. Andre and his business partner were looking to develop a new brand of sneakers but realized that they field was highly competitive. "His interest in getting into the headphone business was prompted by what he calls a steady decline in the quality of audio equipment and of recordings, as they have been compressed into digital files" (New York Times). Many individuals in the music industry have been looking for new ways to create revenue due to the fact that its very easy for the average consumer to download illegal content. "Industrywide annual revenues tumbled from $38 billion to $16.5 billion over the past decade" (Forbes). Andre also used his position as a music producer and founder of interscope records to place his newly developed product where his target market could see. The product was ether being worn or featured by musicians on Andre's record label. Eventually, the product became so popular among artists from other labels would wear it in their videos without being asked too. Many sports teams are provided with beats so it also allows people from many different demographics to be exposed to the product. During the 2012 Olympics and recent world basketball championships, the entire USA national team was provided with Beats. Many international teams and superstars are frequently seem wearing the .Urban music followers are ether receptive or resistant to certain products but they have accepted Beats by Dre with open arms. The greats brand that have been developed over time are the companies that sort of develop a lifestyle and brand image. Beats brand image is of high quality and a luxurious urban life style. Company representatives have also realized that mobile music libraries are becoming less and less popular due to the fact that live streaming is much more affordable. "The mp3 is heading the way of the CD. It might be there already" (Forbes). The audio equipment producer has created a product so popular that it is now being built into cars, laptops, and other mobile technology. "A typical pair of Beats sell for about $300 — nearly 10 times the price of ear buds that come with iPods. And, despite these lean economic times, they are selling surprisingly fast" (New York Times). The market for luxury audio equipment has increased because of Beats By Dre. Other artists such as Ludacris and 50 Cent have released or endorsed their own brand of audio equipment. There is no much more heavy competition now compared to when the company released its initial product. Although there is much more competition it continues to see growth in market share. "Annual sales are approaching $500 million, and Beats have transformed headphones into a fashion accessory" (New York Times). I believe the Beasts audio marketers will continue to further develop different branches of beats audio products to better increase market share.