Beats Electronics

Beats Electronics LLC
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryConsumer electronics
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006) in Santa Monica, California
Founders
Headquarters
Culver City, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Matthew Costello (COO)
Products
ParentApple Inc. (2014–present)
Websitebeatsbydre.com

Beats Electronics LLC (also known as Beats by Dr. Dre, or simply Beats by Dre) is an American consumer audio products manufacturer headquartered in Culver City, California.[1][2] The company was founded in 2006 by music producer Dr. Dre and record company executive Jimmy Iovine. Since 2014, it has been an Apple subsidiary.

The subsidiary's product line is primarily focused on headphones and speakers. The company's original product line was manufactured in partnership with the AV equipment company Monster Cable Products. Following the end of its contract with the company, Beats took further development of its products in-house. In 2014, the company expanded into the online music market with the launch of a subscription-based streaming service, Beats Music.

In 2011, NPD Group reported that Beats' market share was 64% in the U.S. for headphones priced higher than $100, and the brand was valued at $1 billion in September 2013.[3][4]

For a period, the company was majority-owned by Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC. The company reduced its stake to 25% in 2012, and sold its remaining stake back to the company in 2013. Concurrently, Carlyle Group replaced HTC as a minority shareholder, alongside Dr. Dre and Iovine in late 2013. On August 1, 2014, Apple acquired Beats for $3 billion in a cash and stock deal, the largest acquisition in Apple's history.

  1. ^ "About us section". beatsbydre.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  2. ^ "Beats Electronics – Culver City Headquarters". officesnapshots.com. November 17, 2014.
  3. ^ "Dr Dre Beats valued at more than $1bn following Carlyle deal". The Guardian. September 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference theage-bass was invoked but never defined (see the help page).