If high quality audio is your thing, then this is your month. Several high profile celebrities announced new headphone lines at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show last week.
See: Sound Advice: 5 Celebrity Headphone Lines
Entertainer Chris “Ludacris†Bridges was not to be undone by the competition. Soul, his line of in-ear and on-ear HD headphones with Signeo USA, come in five different models, as well as in varying colors and includes noise cancelation technology. Like his contemporaries, which includes Curtis “50 Cent†Jackson, Bridges, didn’t want to slap his name on a product and leave the hard work to the professionals. The Atlanta entrepreneur spent a lot of time with audio engineers and designers at Signeo dictating what he wanted the product to look like and how he wanted it to perform.
Bridges, who also collaborated with Norwegian cognac house Birkedal Hartmann to create Conjure cognac, is no stranger to building brands. BlackEnterprise.com sat with him in Las Vegas to discuss his partnership with Signeo USA and find out his strategy for building equity in his name and businesses.
BlackEnterprise.com: What type of input did you provide towards the engineering of the Soul headphones?
Bridges: We went through a lot of stages. It’s been a process and we were extremely specific about every detail. After two years we’ve gotten exactly what we wanted. It’s the closest thing to perfection. There is a lot of competition out there, but me personally, I feel like there is no competition when it comes to the overall sound quality and the design of the headphones.
Soul by Ludacris
Why did you decide to partner with Signeo USA?
I wanted a headphone manufacturer that was just as detailed about every single thing as I was in trying to offer the best product on the market. In terms of me building my brand, I always strive for perfection and I wanted to partner with a company that does the same thing.
As someone with several businesses, what advice would you give in regards to growing different streams of revenue?
It’s all about finding the best individuals that know what they are doing. I might have a passion for something. That doesn’t mean I know every technical aspect of it. So it’s about growing a strong team around you of individuals that are experienced and just as passionate as you are.
Check out Bridges as he explains the differences between his various Soul headphone models.
