f
e
a
t
spotlight
labels. They made them big stars,
but kept most of the money.
Understand that these things
happen and know every detail of
your contract.
CG: Let’s talk Beats. Will you
shed some light on why there is
a lawsuit taking place?
Noel: First of all, I want to
compliment Jimmy and Dre on
what they did with pop culture in
the music industry. The facts
supporting the lawsuit are all in
the public record. The case just
started and is still in progress. The
bottom line: I feel each of the
people named took advantage of
Monster and of me. We spent five
years of our lives building a
company and a product that we
now don’t own and cannot
capitalize on. We were really the
technology, the manufacturing, the
marketing, the sales behind Beats,
and it consumed every fiber of
every person at Monster. The
Beats legacy began with Monster
as the key designer, manufacturer
and distribution partner, and we
ended up with nothing. When we
realized how we had been used, a
lawsuit ensued.
CG: When did this deal really
start to go south in your mind?
Noel: Well as the complaint states,
a lot of the scheme was planned
out about two years before the
contract was up. Not just our
complaint, but common business
sense tells you that while you
don’t know how long it takes to
make a $3 billion deal with Apple,
it’s not something that just
happens. Back in 2011, we had no
notice that everything was going
to be taken away from us. We
didn’t even know there was a deal
being discussed with Apple until it
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was announced. As the original
creator and a one-time minority
shareholder in Beats, it’s a terrible
feeling what went down.
CG: Looking back on it, what
could have been done differently
on your end?
Noel: If I knew then what I know
now, I wouldn’t have been so
naïve. I learned a lot of lessons
with Beats. People have ulterior
motives, especially today with
entrepreneurs and VCs. Know that
not everybody can be accepted at
face value. This is a difficult
reality to accept because you want
to believe that your closest team
members and partners have your
back at all times. I learned the
hard way that the bigger you get,
the more vulnerable you become.
CG: Were you ‘the’ engineer
that created the technology
behind Beats by Dre?
Noel: Yes, along with my team at
Monster.
We
created
the
technology. It was my instincts
combined with the ideas and
designs of my team. And because
of my musical abilities and
ex