SOHH Squad
West Coast rap mogul Dr. Dre is reportedly losing millions, if not billions, with his Beats Electronics company because of an overseas company trying to cash-in on its image. #moneycashwoes
Details of Dre’s unexpected woes surfaced online Thursday (July 10).
Dr. Dre — who just made a fortune selling off Beats headphones — wants to stop cheap, Chinese-made knockoffs from jacking his reputation … so his company is suing alleged counterfeiters for what could easily be BILLIONS of dollars! In the lawsuit, Beats claims a nefarious group of unnamed websites based in China … are getting filthy rich selling cheaply-made, counterfeit headphones, bearing the red “b” logo — and raking in more than $135 BILLION in revenue. (TMZ)
Along with stopping the company’s production, Dre’s iconic brand also wants to fatten its pockets.
Beats points out it’s the headphone of choice for Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Diddy and tons of other celebs … according to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ — so it has a vested interest in protecting its trademark.Beats is suing to stop all sales of the forgeries … and to take over all of the domain names used by websites hawking the fakes. Dre and co. also want ALL profits from the head-phonies. (TMZ)
Appearing at the annual Cannes Lions festival last month, rap star Kanye West spoke on Apple recruiting Dr. Dre to purchase Beats Electronics.
“There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture,” said West. “The reason I said I didn’t like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. I can’t work with anyone but Jay Z, because he’s No. 1. I can’t be with any girl but Kim, because that’s the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I’m not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton, because that’s No. 1. … Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers.” (Adweek)
May reports suggested the Doc and Jimmy Iovine would play big roles at Apple following a multi-billion dollar Beats Electronics purchase.
Their titles: “Jimmy” and “Dre.” It’s a full-time gig for Mr. Iovine, who is leaving his post as chairman of Vivendi’s Interscope Records. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, will continue to produce music but do “as much as it takes” for Apple. (No word on whether that includes creating and posting any Instagram videos.) (Wall Street Journal)
One of the great mysteries of the Universe, aside from whether or not God does indeed exist, is how someone like Kanye West got to be culturally relevant. His sentiments expressed here are utterly absurd.