After forming a partnership that’s garnered huge popularity and sales figures, headphone makers Monster and Dr Dre’s Beats brand are to go their separate ways. The end of the contract opens the door to a new partner, but who?
The Beats headphone range has been one of the last few years’ big tech success stories, and no doubt Monster will have loved being part of it, but the shock decision not to renew the deal after five years opens the door for someone else.
Whereas Monster now plans to launch 8 new headphone lines by itself, Beats will need a manufacturer on its side. Likely partners are Sennheiser, Klipsch and Shure, each of which would jump at the chance to rub shoulders with the Dr Dre-fronted brand.
HTC becomes Beats’ biggest shareholder
But it’ll cost. HTC has a massive stake in Beats to enable it to launch phones like the HTC Sensation XE with Beats built in. That privilege cost HTC $300 million (around £195 million), so if a new headphone manufacturer wants to fill Monster’s shoes you can guarantee it won’t be able to do so cheaply.
It may even be the case that HTC plans to start making standalone headphones itself, such is its level of investment and Beats’ interest in the mobile space. It’d certainly be a nice touch if your next mobile phone came with a genuinely decent pair of cans.
But then, you get what you pay for. Riding on Beats’ coattails while the going’s still good would likely be a real boon for any company.
Via TechRadar
