Publications

July 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

A&M/Octone Records: All Rights or Nothing?

By: Anita Elberse, Elie Ofek and Caren Kelleher

In April 2008, after successfully transitioning Octone Records to Universal Music Group and relaunching the label as A&M/Octone Records, president and CEO James Diener is facing a new challenge. Diener and his executive team have trouble convincing a new, promising... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Intellectual Property; Contracts; Rights; Product Marketing; Product Development; Technology; Music Industry

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

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

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

January 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Leonard Bernstein: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the rise of Leonard Bernstein from a middle-class family in Boston to the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The case describes how he studied music intensely as a young man and developed mentors to open doors for him. As his fame grew,... View Details

Keywords: Impact; Personal Development and Career; Music Industry; Music Industry

February 2005
Case

L. Londell McMillan (A)

On the plane back to New York City, L. Londell McMillan focused on the music on his headphones, the latest offering from his friend and long-time client, Prince Rogers Nelson--the artist known as "Prince." McMillan and Prince had spent several days contemplating a... View Details

Keywords: Contracts; Music Entertainment; Product Marketing; Music Industry

September 2019
Case

Alicia Keys

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of Alicia Keys, the 15-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter and producer. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Keys’s 18-year musical career and additional passions, including acting, entrepreneurship, social justice activism,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Fine Arts Industry; Fine Arts Industry; United States

November 2004
Tutorial

Principles of Microeconomics for Strategists

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Pai-Ling Yin and Elizabeth Raabe

Reviews microeconomic principles from a business strategy perspective, using the digital music industry as context. Contains three modules: demand, supply, and equilibrium. The demand module discusses the willingness to pay, market demand, price elasticity, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Supply and Industry; Demand and Consumers; Microeconomics; Balance and Stability; Price; Cost; Revenue; Music Industry

December 2022 (Revised September 2024)
Teaching Note

Leonard Bernstein: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 122-056. The case traces the rise of Leonard Bernstein from a middle-class family in Boston to the conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The case describes how he studied music intensely as a young man and developed mentors to... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Personal Characteristics; Work-Life Balance; Entrepreneurship; Success; Values and Beliefs; Mission and Purpose; Personal Development and Career; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

RealNetworks Rhapsody

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Steven Carpenter

Examines RealNetwork's (Real's) strategy for the rapidly emerging online music market. In contrast to rivals who sell individual copies of songs, Real offers online music on a subscription basis. For a $10 monthly fee, subscribers to Real's Rhapsody service have... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Distribution Channels; Music Entertainment; Ownership; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry

July 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

BMG Entertainment

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Gerrit Meier

As dramatic changes in technology and customer tastes roil the music industry, the top executives of BMG Entertainment, one of the world's largest record companies, must decide how to organize for digital distribution of music. This case includes a brief history of the... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Distribution Channels; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Industry Structures; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Music Industry; Music Industry

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

August 2000
Case

Alison Brown of Compass Records

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Amy Blitz

Highly acclaimed recording artist, banjo player, and jazz/blue grass composer Alison Brown has used her artistic experience and MBA-based business savvy to found a successful independent record company with bassist/husband Garry West. Representing a stellar roster of... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Industry Structures; Service Delivery; Business Strategy; Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

August 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Background Note

Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging

By: Willy Shih

Some technology transitions are exceedingly difficult for incumbent firms to execute. The bankruptcy filing by the Eastman Kodak Company highlighted the difficulty companies faced when their core business transitioned from an analog to a digital world. Kodak's business... View Details

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-439. Within 15 years, CEO Daniel Ek had led Spotify from an ambitious startup to a multi-billion dollar company that had transformed the music industry. As part of Spotify’s next phase of growth, the platform would invest heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Music Industry

October 2007
Case

iPhone vs. Cell Phone

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

The launch of Apple's iPhone marked a pivotal new chapter in the story of mobile music (the uniting of digital music players with mobile phones). The iPhone combined an iPod music player, a cell phone, and a mobile Internet device, along with a camera and other... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Music Entertainment; Product Launch; Partners and Partnerships; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Communications Industry; Communications Industry

April 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Bono and U2

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

This case traces the 30-year development of the rock band U2 and the development of its four members as artists, business leaders, and humanitarians (with particular attention paid to lead singer Bono's global humanitarian work). The case examines the beginnings of the... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise; Music Industry

November 1997
Case

Polygram Classics

There has been no growth in classical recorded music sales from 1991 to 1996. Polygram Classics, the market leader, has appointed a new management team to revive growth. All areas of marketing are analyzed as the basis for a new strategy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Music Entertainment; Global Strategy; Music Industry