Publications

May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Music Downloads

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the competition between competing music formats. In the '90s, the MP3 format challenged the traditional means of music distribution by allowing for storage of near CD-quality recordings at 1/10th of their previous size. The threat to traditional distribution... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Music Entertainment; Legal Liability; Distribution; Competition; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Information Infrastructure; Music Industry; Music Industry

Find at Harvard

October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Warner Music Group

TH Lee, a leading private equity firm, needs to decide whether to commit to the acquisition of AOL Time Warner's music group, and whether to commit the entire amount needed, $1.4 billion. The music industry has suffered greatly in recent years, largely as a result of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Private Equity; Investment; Music Industry

March 2000
Case

Spec's Music (B)

By: John A. Davis and Susan Harmeling

Explores the reasoning behind the final decision to sell and the decision-making process that leads to the final question of "if so, to whom?" Four of the bidders are music retailers and the fifth is a Tampa entrepreneur. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Bids and Bidding

21 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

Music Downloads: Pirates—or Customers?

Internet music piracy not only doesn't hurt legitimate CD sales, it may even boost sales of some types of music. Those were the counterintuitive findings released in March by Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee and his... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music; Music

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Acquisition; Revenue; Marketing; Music Industry; Music Industry; Pennsylvania

July 2016 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Hamilton: An American Musical

By: Anita Elberse and Jennifer Schoppe

In July 2013, composer, writer, actor and rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, and producer Jeffrey Seller met to discuss how to launch Hamilton, a new musical based on the life of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton.... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Creative Industries; Performing Arts; (General) Management; Blockbusters; Non-profit; Theater Entertainment; Strategy; Risk Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Arts; Creativity; Product Launch; Product Development; Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

March 2000 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Spec's Music (A)

By: John A. Davis and Susan Harmeling

Presents the story of a music retailer in Miami which started in the late 1940s, grew throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and went public in 1985 before experiencing a deep industry crisis in the mid-1990s. At issue in 1996 is whether the company should attempt to sell... View Details

Keywords: History; Family Business; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Performance Improvement; Music Industry; Miami

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Revenue; Marketing; Music Industry; Music Industry

January 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Live Nation Faces the Music

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Five Forces Framework; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry

February 2007
Case

Update: The Music Industry in 2006

By: John R. Wells and Elizabeth Raabe

The global recorded music industry was undergoing a major transition in 2006. Sales had been declining for a decade, and consumers were buying music in new formats and through different distribution channels. CD sales still accounted for the majority of revenues, but... View Details

Keywords: History; Arts; Music Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Market Timing; Performance Evaluation; Trends; Music Industry

Fast Answer

Music industry statistics

Where can I find data on the music/recording industry? Recording Industry Association of America: Key Statistics Statistical summaries on U.S. and worldwide record sales, and consumers of recorded music, marketing reports, and consumer trends. View Details

November 2014 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Zeswitz Music

By: Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

August 2005 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Polyphonic HMI: Mixing Music and Math

By: Anita Elberse, Jehoshua Eliashberg and Julian Villanueva

In 2003, Mike McCready, CEO of Barcelona-based Polyphonic HMI, was preparing to launch an artificial intelligence tool that could create significant value for music businesses. The technology, referred to as Hit Song Science (HSS), analyzed the mathematical... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Music Entertainment; Business History; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Mathematical Methods; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Apr 1997
News

Facing the Music

(MBA '92), Paul Knutson (HBS '98), William H. roedy, Jr. (MBA '79), and Strauss Zelnick (MBA/JD '83), industry insiders with perspectives from key vantage points in the music world. They, along with HBS associate professor John J.... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

02 Aug 2016
Video

Shark Footage With Ominous Music

02 Aug 2016
Video

Shark Footage with Uplifting Music

December 2007
Background Note

The Music Recording Industry: Digital Rocks

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Digital and mobile technologies profoundly and forever changed the long-held value proposition for the recorded music industry--the 12-song physical CD selling at $15. By 2007, it was apparent that the music recording business had become a digital business, and... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Disruption; Music Entertainment; Distribution; Practice; Technology Adoption; Value; Music Industry