f
e
a
t
spotlight
Consider the
biggest headphone
brands out there.
Every product is a
consequence of its
creator’s
imagination and
hard work. For
some, however, that
consequence spans
far beyond the
perfectly snug
speakers blasting
sweet sonic waves
into your ears.
u
r e
The reason entrepreneur and cofounder of Beats by Dre, Jimmy
Iovine, describes consumers’
reactions to the Beats headphones
as getting “dumped on by
audiophiles on day one,” is
because they were created,
designed, and brought to market
by one who started an audio
products empire from his garage
in San Francisco.
Beats currently controls some 70
percent of the headphones market,
thanks to lightning-fast marketing,
a smart grasp of pop culture, and
technology created by audio
genius Noel Lee.
Monster Cable Products, Inc. was
founded in 1979. Fast forward to
2006 when Jimmy Iovine and Dr.
Dre expressed interest in the
speaker
business
and
are
introduced to Head Monster Noel
Lee, who explains that speakers
are no longer the hottest item in
audio, and that headphones are the
new speakers.
What Noel Lee accomplished with
Beats was something no other
headphone brand had done before:
recreate the excitement of being in
a studio and put it into a stylish
product that wraps comfortably
around your head.
In 2012, Noel Lee received the
Lifetime Achievement Award and
nine innovative technologies
awards at the prestigious Plus X
Awards®, in recognition of a
company dedicated to creating
“What Noel Lee
accomplished
with Beats was
something no
other headphone
brand had done
before: recreate
the excitement of
being in a studio
and put it into a
stylish product
that wraps
comfortably
around your
head.”
54
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cre a t in g e ni u s
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Summer Issue