Dr. Dre’s headphone empire getting in the way of his new album

Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones earned him $110 million in 2011...

12:11 10 September 2012

Dr. Dre may have started out as a musician, but now he is too busy to finish his new album. The reason behind this is none other than his very own Beats headphones, the product that propelled him to a whole new level of stardom and paid him a total of $110 million in 2011. 

 

Dr. Dre, who was born to unwed teenage parents in Compton, California, relied on his talent in rap music to top the hip-hop music charts and become a millionaire. But it is not his music but his business venture that would make him $110 million richer in a year alone. 

 

His Beats by Dr. Dre headphones have become so popular that it is considered a must-have among young people all over the world.

 

Bearing the iconic ‘b’ logo, the headphones have been seen on actress and musician Taryn Manning, Olympic diver Katie Bell, rappers Li’l Wayne and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, singer Nicki Minaj, and NBA star Lebron James, among several other celebrities. 

 

The success of the headphones has caused Dr. Dre to postpone the release of his much-awaited album entitled “Detox”.

 

Former Def Jam president Kevin Liles said to Forbes as reported by the Mail Online: “I understand why Dre didn’t finish Detox. It’s called Beats.”

 

The success of Beats also prompted Taiwanese electronics company HTC to pay $300 million to get a 51 percent stake in the headphones empire. Out of this, Dr. Dre, 47, brought home $100 million. 

 

Dr. Dre, or Andre Young, is now on top of Forbes’ Cash Kings list this year, thanks to his headphones empire. He is now one of the richest rappers in the world with a total fortune estimated at over $250 million. 

 

His headphones empire started humbly enough, though, when Dr. Dre had an epiphany while walking along the beach with Interscope Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine. He was initially contemplating launching a line of shoes, when Mr. Iovine suddenly said, asquoted by Mail Online: “Forget sneakers. Let’s sell speakers.”

 

Since the launch of Beats headphones, Dr. Dre has called in his popular musician friends such as P. Diddy, Justin Bieber, and Lady GaGa, to help him promote his pricey new product.