music - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details

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11 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Why South Korea's Samsung Built the Only Outdoor Skating Rink in Texas

featuring music by the local symphony as 250,000 Christmas lights lit up the county courthouse. Then revelers could head to the Samsung Ice Skating Rink, the only outdoor venue of its kind in all of Texas—which also happened to be located... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Legal Services

01 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Better by the Bundle?

says. All kinds of products are sold in bundles. Microsoft Office is sold as a bundle of computer software, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Cable companies offer their channels in bundle packages. Even a music CD is essentially a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Overcoming Nervous Nelly

at how that anxiety can change the outcomes of negotiations. In order to induce anxiety in participants, she asked them to listen to the theme from the horror film Psycho; others heard soothing classical music instead. Then she placed... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

July 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Lady Gaga (A)

By: Anita Elberse and Michael Christensen

In September 2009, Troy Carter, manager of up-and-coming pop star Lady Gaga, has to decide on a new course of action now that his artist's planned co-headlining arena tour with hip-hop superstar Kanye West has been cancelled. Carter knows that continuing the tour, but... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Product; Product Development; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Creativity; Music Industry

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07 Jun 2021
Book

9 Tips from an Expert Fundraiser: Help Donors 'Invest in Their Passion'

readers of this book are what I call prospective community-level philanthropists. This covers everything from the neighborhood music school to the local community hospital. The recommendations become more complex with a trustee being more... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

04 Jun 2001
What Do You Think?

What’s the Future of the Subscription Model?

information to music in order to sell advertising. As questions are being raised about the ability of telephone service providers, newspapers, and others to sell subscriptions in the future, I recently asked readers what the future of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Rediscovering Schumpeter: The Power of Capitalism

made this comparison for 2 reasons. First, Beethoven's music is not always easy to understand—in contrast, for example, to Mozart's. (Mozart is the most widely recorded of all classical composers, and Beethoven second.) You have to be... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

05 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors

mind. One is Coca-Cola's "I'd like to teach the world to sing," which invokes the deep metaphor of connection and the ability of the brand to bring diverse people together. It also engaged the deep metaphor of social balance by stressing with a View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

Time. Scott Duke Kominers: Pop music and poetry I have the habit of reading three books at a time: a biography, some other non-fiction, and a work of fiction. For biographies, I’ve been on a music kick: I... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)

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November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

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05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

he created Japan’s first modern bank, Dai’ichi Bank (First National Bank). Its successor, Mizuho Bank, remains one of Japan’s largest banks. Observers might consider Shibusawa as Japan’s Alexander Hamilton, whose similar pop culture revival culminated in a Broadway... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

January 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Supplement

Hip Hop (B): Can't Stop, Won't Stop

By: Mukti Khaire and Kerry Herman

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Music Industry

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19 Jan 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Can Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Save Jazz Music?

Keywords: Re: Rohit Deshpande; Music

Article

Music's Last Best Hope Lies in Live-Streaming

By: Scott Duke Kominers

With big crowds and concerts off limits, there is almost no other way for performers to make money. View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Online Technology

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January 2012
Teaching Note

Lady Gaga (A) and (B)

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Arts; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

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January 1982 (Revised May 1983)
Case

CBS Record Co. (A): The Long-Range Industry Forecast

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Demographics; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

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October 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

Examines how successful companies can “jump to the next S-curve” through an analogy to the life's work of Miles Davis, especially his paradigm-shattering Kind of Blue album in 1959. Students consider how and why Davis, who had already proven he was tops in his field,... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Creativity; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

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