Publications

May 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Radiohead: Music at Your Own Price (A)

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Bergsman

In October 2007, the British band Radiohead caused a stir when it announced it would allow customers to decide how much to pay for its new album, released exclusively as a digital download and available only from the band's own website. The pricing plan represented a... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Price; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Online Technology; Music Industry

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

De Passe Entertainment and Creative Partners

By: Linda A. Hill

After 24 years at Motown Industries, Hollywood executive Suzanne de Passe has decided to go out on her own to start two new businesses. The case describes de Passe's career from her beginning as Berry Gordy's assistant at Motown Records to her presidency of Gordy/de... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Business or Company Management; Entertainment; Personal Development and Career; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; California

Find at Harvard

Article

The Effect of Background Music in Shark Documentaries on Viewers' Perceptions of Sharks

By: Andy Nosal, Elizabeth A. Keenan, Philip A. Hastings and Ayelet Gneezy

Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation. These negative attitudes arise from an instinctive yet exaggerated fear, which is validated and reinforced... View Details

Keywords: Natural Environment; Prejudice and Bias; Marketing; Attitudes; Music Entertainment

Read Now

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

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

May 2008 (Revised June 2009)
Supplement

Radiohead: Music at Your Own Price (B)

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Bergsman

Keywords: Arts; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 2010
Teaching Note

Nettwerk: Digital Marketing in the Music Industry (TN)

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Teaching Note for 510055. View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Internet and the Web; Contracts; Arts; Projects; Venture Capital; Music Industry

April 2010
Teaching Note

The Globalization of East Asian Pop Music (TN)

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Teaching Note for 708479. View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Business Strategy; Profit; Expansion; Globalization; Culture; East Asia; United States

Research Summary

Social Media and Their Consequences

By: John A. Deighton

Social media have had negative consequences for entertainment industries such as music and motion pictures, but they have had positive implications too. This project is concerned with one aspect of these social media effects: changes in the process by which talented... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Social Media

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

October 2015
Case

BandPage (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Colin Maclay and Greta Friar

BandPage CEO James "J" Sider is about to receive results from BandPage's targeted advertising campaign on music streaming service Rhapsody and learn whether BandPage's strategy to improve ad click through rates and generate revenue has succeeded. BandPage, which began... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digital Music; Digital Marketing; Mobile Marketing; Technological Innovation; Marketing Communications; Music Entertainment; Mobile Technology; Music Industry

March 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad—a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of... View Details

Keywords: Managing Diverse Teams; Leadership Transitions; Global Innovation; Music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition

February 2014
Case

Interview with Joe Kennedy, Pandora Media

By: Willy C. Shih

Joe Kennedy is the emeritus president of Pandora Media. In this interview, he discusses some of the challenges he faced in leading the company. View Details

Keywords: Pandora; Internet Radio; Pandora Media; Streaming; Music Industry; Music Entertainment; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; California

October 2014
Case

MCA Matsushita (A)

By: Andrew Wasynczuk and Karen Huang

Keywords: Music Corporation Of America; Matsushita Electric Industra; Negotiation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; Japan

September 2013 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Marquee: Reinventing the Business of Nightlife

By: Anita Elberse, Ryan Barlow and Sheldon Wong

In January 2013, nightlife impresarios Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg are celebrating the re-opening of their famed New York City–based nightclub Marquee. While most clubs are over within their first one and a half years, Strauss and Tepperberg managed to keep... View Details

Keywords: Creative Industries; Nightlife; Service Management; Entertainment; Fashion; Celebrities; Event Marketing; Risk Management; Customer Relationship Management; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Music Entertainment; Product Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Las Vegas

July 2015 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport

By: Geoffrey Jones, Michael Norris and Sophi Kim

The case focuses on the career of Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of the German-based sports shoe manufacturer Adidas. The origins of the firm were in the interwar years, and it rose to public prominence after it provided spikes for Jesse Owens, the famous... View Details

August 2022
Teaching Note

BTS & ARMY

By: Doug J. Chung and Kay R. Koo

Industry leaders must define a particular outcome of interest (i.e., an objective) to establish an organization’s strategy. BTS’s initial objective was to increase brand recognition and to acquire a solid fanbase. The proliferation of social network platforms... View Details

Keywords: Cultural Diversity; Brand Equity; Go-to-market Strategy; Social Network; Entertainment Industry; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Music Industry

April 2005
Case

Handleman Company

By: Janice H. Hammond and Kevin Dolan

Describes the organization and operations of the Handleman Co., an intermediary in the music industry that buys recorded music and resells it to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart. The company provides distribution, inventory management, retail merchandising, and category... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Music Entertainment; Cost Management; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Distribution Channels; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Online Technology; Value Creation; Music Industry

December 2009 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Sony and the JK Wedding Dance

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Executives at Sony Music Entertainment faced a dilemma: a user-generated video featuring controversial artist Chris Brown's music was netting millions of views per week on YouTube. Sony held the copyright to the song, and was entitled to issue a takedown notice to the... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Copyright; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet; Music Industry