Overspending is nothing new, especially in the world of EDM. We spend $250 in a nightclub on a bottle of vodka that costs $50, or $400 on tickets to a festival to hear songs that cost $2.49 on Beatport. And while some argue that the inflated prices are worth the environment they’re experienced in, a lot of the times it’s incredibly not worth such a lofty price tag.

Tech blog Bolt bought a pair of Beats Headphones retailed at $199 and took them apart piece by piece to really see what the fuss is about. Their findings? That the lightweight headphones were made of mostly snappable, plastic parts that only cost $17 to manufacture before labor. And yet somehow, the backing of hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre and Interscope co-founder Jimmy Iovine turned $17 headphones into a $3 billion empire.

Moral of the story: Branding is everything.

Source: Bolt Blog