New iPhone 15 and new wired USB-C headphone pausing

Got a new iPhone 15 about a month ago. Bought brand new wired USB-C headphones. First played a song from Apple Music. Sounded great then paused and kept pausing. Then tried a movie which popped up an error every 60 second saying something like ‘Make sure headphones connected’. Then had to press Ok two times in a row every 60 seconds. That continued for two hours. I was on a plane, so stayed with it. Tried shutting blue tooth on and off. Tried plugging/unplugging etc.

When I got home tried again with WiFi and then just using cellular data. This time I checked timing. Stopped at 1:03 minutes, 2:03, 3:03, 4:03 minutes. Happens with music and video (YouTube)

The connection is snug, connections clean, battery on phone fully charged. The headphones have a mic button, tried turning it on /off.

what else can I try?

i want wired headphones, not earbuds.

Thanks!