“Beats.”  They’re everywhere.  The stylized “b” is unmistakeable, and people around the world have been buying these pricey headphones in ridiculous numbers.   The lowest-end models start at $100, and are easily $300+ at the top end. Is it worth spending as much on headphones as on the device they’ll plug into?

Well, either way, it’s important to remember they represent an interesting form of music marketing.

What Beats Says About Sound Quality And Music Marketing

Beats first came out in 2008, when the headphone market was largely dominated by the terrible little earbuds that Apple used to package with their products.  As the story goes, Dr. Dre decided he was tired of music being wrecked in post-production to sound “good” on little speakers.  So he partnered with Monster Cable, and made his own.

And they were an overnight success, despite the huge price tags.

Why?  Most everyday listeners had never really been exposed to high-end headphones.  Those were mostly the domain of companies like Sennheiser or Grado, who weren’t widely-known outside of the audiophile community.  So people going to Beats from the old Apple headphones were blown away.

In reality?  The high-end models have sound that is indeed very good, but it’s hardly top-of-the-line.  They’re extremely bass-heavy, and so best suited for hip-hop, dance, and similar styles.  They aren’t all-around headphones.

Further, in virtually any price range, you can find comparable headsets for considerably cheaper…  But, of course, without that shiny “b” on the side.

It’s music marketing by way of branding.  Dr. Dre pretty much relaunched himself to prominence with these headphones, as well as inspiring a host of other hip-hop artists to do the same. There’s now a huge market of celebrity-branded high-end headphones.

However, if you do a little shopping around, you can easily find better bargains, and headphones that have more than deep bass.  Unless you really think you’ll gain cache at your performances from wearing Beats, you’re almost certainly better off investing in headphones from the more-established audio brands.