> Whilst I dislike Beats, I admire them a lot. They entered a market where every company was focusing on sound quality first
Haven’t people been having this exact same conversation about Bose for decades? Shitty quality, but aesthetics, a few whizzy features, and a lot of marketing that breathlessly claims they “sound better?”
Also Bang and Olufsen. Middling sound but beautiful aesthetics, and a price tag to make them the haute couture of audio?
I would say that Bose spent a lot of money trying to make their headphones aesthetically pleasing, but dealt with an aging market. Younger buyers naturally view Bose as something their parents would own.
It seems to me that the success of Beats really comes down to demographics. In fashion, it is difficult for a brand to jump generations, so there’s a natural opportunity for new brands to establish themselves with a younger generation.
Beats did everything right to take advantage of great timing.
Haven’t people been having this exact same conversation about Bose for decades? Shitty quality, but aesthetics, a few whizzy features, and a lot of marketing that breathlessly claims they “sound better?”
Also Bang and Olufsen. Middling sound but beautiful aesthetics, and a price tag to make them the haute couture of audio?
I would say that Bose spent a lot of money trying to make their headphones aesthetically pleasing, but dealt with an aging market. Younger buyers naturally view Bose as something their parents would own.
It seems to me that the success of Beats really comes down to demographics. In fashion, it is difficult for a brand to jump generations, so there’s a natural opportunity for new brands to establish themselves with a younger generation.
Beats did everything right to take advantage of great timing.