Publications

February 2015
Case

TouchTunes and the Connected Digital Jukebox Platform

By: Alan MacCormack and Noah Fisher

The case describes innovation and new product development at TouchTunes, the leader in the Digital Jukebox market. In March 2013, after releasing its innovative "Virtuo" jukebox developed in collaboration with frog design, TouchTunes was at a crossroads. Having... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Design; R＆D; Outsourcing; Platform Strategy; Digital Media; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Music Industry

2022
Working Paper

The Routledge Handbook of Digital Consumption, Chapter 41: The Internet’s Effects on Consumption: Useful, Harmful, Playful

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

This chapter considers how digital culture has changed over the past decade, as the internet has grown its scope and user base. Billions around the world connect daily to an ever-expanding set of applications. A framework for thinking about digital effects is offered:... View Details

Keywords: Digital Culture; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Society

Read Now

20 Jul 2015
Blog Post

My Journey to Working with At Night Management / PRMD Music

working in the iTunes group. For many years, it was the most important digital release platform in the music industry. Yet we were disconnected from the creative part of the industry, far away from the... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

October 2019 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Gupta Media: Performance Marketing in the Digital Age

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Gupta Media is a Digital Marketing firm started in 2005 that places advertisements and marketing promotions for its clients in digital media, mainly social media such as Facebook and Google. Over the years it had built its expertise in promoting music labels, artists... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Digital Marketing; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Social Media; Advertising Industry

Fast Answer

Music & Activism: Market Research Resources

I find information on trends on social media, digital music and the web? eMarketer
Market data, statistics, and analysis on the Internet, e-business, online marketing, media, and emerging technologies.... View Details

16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

sells music titles for 99 cents each, compete with free music downloads on peer-to-peer networks? Do the two approaches to distributing digital content complement each other?... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

August 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

RCA Records: The Digital Revolution

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1995, Bertelsmann-owned RCA Records was considered a "tired and old" record label. By 1999, the company represented a number of the "hottest" acts in the music industry. Nevertheless, the company's position (as well as that of the entire music industry) was under... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Business Model; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Music Industry; Music Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

April 2007
Teaching Note

iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution? (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching note to 707419. View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Emerging Markets; Brands and Branding; Sales; Opportunities; Price; Business Model; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Service Delivery; Music Industry

17 Jul 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence

users to time-shift their TV viewing. According to Yoffie, entertainment and communications are coming together to produce a mobile music revolution—the distribution of digital View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer; Education

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Summit Explores the New Economy

Harvard Business School's Digital Initiative recently gathered students, scholars, and leaders from practice at the 2015 Digital Initiative Summit to "explore the digital... View Details

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Digital Designs on the Inner City

An increasing number of inner city residents own computers and have online access, but government agencies and private companies need to do more to bridge the digital divide that still exists among income groups, according to business and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Companies Must Forget—and Borrow

As companies ride the digital wave, many find that switching up old, tired practices and deviating from the norm can be crucial to survival. But sometimes things can be taken too far. During the Digital... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education; Advertising

19 Oct 2016
Book

Three Critical Mistakes Digital Businesses Make With Content

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Music; Music

25 Feb 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Scholars and Students Unpack the Digital Business Revolution

Think of Harvard Business School's recently launched the Digital Initiative (D/I) as a giant laboratory, where leading scholars and practitioners convene to research, teach, and put into practice new understandings about the relentless... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Technology

January 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

SoundCloud: Subscription Streaming?

By: Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen, Andy Wu, Jeffrey Boyar and Bonnie Bennett Slater

Established in 2007, SoundCloud already boasted the second largest number of active music listeners among all streaming services and was recognized as the go-to platform for new artists by early 2014. Yet, its founders were questioning the robustness of the firm’s... View Details

July 2016
Case

Spotify

By: Anita Elberse and Alexandre de Pfyffer

In November 2014, Spotify's chief content officer Ken Parks learns that record label Big Machine Records has requested the immediate removal of superstar artist Taylor Swift's entire catalogue from Spotify's music streaming service. Is it time for Spotify to reconsider... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Marketing; Superstar; Music; Entertainment Marketing; Media; Digital Technology; Creative Industries; Product Portfolio Management; General Management; Management; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Open Source Distribution; Creativity; Music Entertainment; Product Marketing; Music Industry

2013
Book

Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment

By: Anita Elberse

What's behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Enterprises, and the NFL—along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James? Which strategies give leaders in film, television, music, publishing, and sports an edge... View Details

Find at Harvard