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  • All HBS Web  (277)
    • People  (3)
    • News  (79)
    • Research  (148)
  • Faculty Publications  (114)

Show Results For

  • All HBS Web  (277)
    • People  (3)
    • News  (79)
    • Research  (148)
  • Faculty Publications  (114)
Page 1 of 277 Results →
  • June 2020
  • Case

Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global

By: Anita Elberse and Lizzy Woodham
Bang Si-Hyuk (‘Hitman Bang’) is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a ‘K-pop’ band that has found unparalleled success around the globe—a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in Korean. It is March... View Details
Keywords: Music; Entertainment; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Music Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Labor; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy; Music Industry; Music Industry
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Elberse, Anita, and Lizzy Woodham. "Big Hit Entertainment and Blockbuster Band BTS: K-Pop Goes Global." Harvard Business School Case 520-125, June 2020.
  • 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
Keywords: Entertainment; Business; Strategy; Media; Digital Technology; Blockbuster; Superstar; Film; Television; Music; Publishing; Performing Arts; Nightlife; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Music Entertainment; Success; Sports; Business Strategy; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry; Music Industry
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Elberse, Anita. Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2013.
  • 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
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Elberse, Anita, and Jennifer Schoppe. "Hamilton: An American Musical." Harvard Business School Case 517-015, July 2016. (Revised June 2019.)
  • November 2024 (Revised April 2025)
  • Case

Cheerful Music

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Feng Zhu and Nancy Hua Dai
Established by Snow Jiang in 2019 in Shenzhen, China, Cheerful Music was a record label company that had created many hit songs in China. “Yi Xiao Jiang Hu,” its most famous hit song, gained billions of views on social media platforms in China and overseas as the... View Details
Keywords: Generative Ai; Music Entertainment; Global Strategy; Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Market Entry and Exit; Music Industry; China; United Kingdom; London
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Zhang, Shunyuan, Feng Zhu, and Nancy Hua Dai. "Cheerful Music." Harvard Business School Case 525-031, November 2024. (Revised April 2025.)
  • 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; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry
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Yoffie, David B., and Deborah Freier. "Music Downloads." Harvard Business School Case 704-503, May 2004. (Revised March 2005.)
  • 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
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El-Hage, Nabil N., and Christopher Edward James Payton. "Warner Music Group." Harvard Business School Case 207-068, October 2006. (Revised August 2007.)
  • 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
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Rivkin, Jan W., and Gerrit Meier. "BMG Entertainment." Harvard Business School Case 701-003, July 2000. (Revised September 2005.)
  • 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; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation
  • 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; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry
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Bradley, Stephen P., Frank Cespedes, and Kerry Herman. "Live Nation Faces the Music." Harvard Business School Case 709-441, January 2009. (Revised March 2013.)
  • 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
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Wells, John R., and Elizabeth Raabe. "Update: The Music Industry in 2006." Harvard Business School Case 707-531, February 2007.
  • 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
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Elberse, Anita, Jehoshua Eliashberg, and Julian Villanueva. "Polyphonic HMI: Mixing Music and Math." Harvard Business School Case 506-009, August 2005. (Revised September 2006.) (Spanish version also available.)
  • 22 Dec 2013
  • News

In entertainment offerings, risk is here to stay

  • 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 2000 (Revised March 2006)
  • Teaching Note

BMG Entertainment (TN)

By: Jan W. Rivkin
Teaching Note for (9-701-003). View Details
Keywords: Music Industry; Music Industry
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Rivkin, Jan W. "BMG Entertainment (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 701-049, November 2000. (Revised March 2006.)
  • 01 Apr 1997
  • News

Facing the Music

about the recent slump but also about the fascinating workings of the star-maker machinery behind the music that moves America. Strauss Zelnick, president and CEO of BMG Entertainment North America, a... View Details
Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso
  • July 2020 (Revised July 2023)
  • Case

Live Nation and Pharrell Williams

By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen
“We’re in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let’s do this. If you think you can pull it off, I’m behind you.” Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment... View Details
Keywords: Music; Entertainment; Superstars; Talent; Labor Economics; General Management; Music Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Joint Ventures; Marketing; Strategy; Music Industry
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Elberse, Anita, and Kate Christensen. "Live Nation and Pharrell Williams." Harvard Business School Case 521-005, July 2020. (Revised July 2023.)
  • 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
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Bradley, Stephen P., and Nancy Bartlett. "The Music Recording Industry: Digital Rocks." Harvard Business School Background Note 708-463, December 2007.
  • October 2009 (Revised March 2012)
  • Case

Nettwerk: Digital Marketing in the Music Industry

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
How is music marketed in the digital era? Nettwerk Music Group built on its foundation as a social, grassroots marketer of music and artists and emerged as a leader in the Internet-enabled social media environment. For most of the past decade Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride... View Details
Keywords: Music Entertainment; Product Marketing; Network Effects; Sales; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology; Music Industry; Music Industry
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Deighton, John A., and Leora Kornfeld. "Nettwerk: Digital Marketing in the Music Industry." Harvard Business School Case 510-055, October 2009. (Revised March 2012.) (request a courtesy copy.)
  • 30 Nov 2009
  • Research & Ideas

Tracks of My Tears: Reconstructing Digital Music

"Bye Bye Bundles: The Unbundling of Music in Digital Channels." Sean Silverthorne: First, what gave you the idea for this study? How did you do the research? Anita Elberse: As with most of my research, the idea emerged after a... View Details
Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music
  • October 2019
  • Case

Street Symphony: Making Human Connections Through Music

By: Rohit Deshpandé
To Vijay Gupta, music was sacred. A highly accomplished and renowned violinist with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gupta believed the act of making and performing music was a deeply spiritual practice — one that had the power to heal audiences and musicians... View Details
Keywords: Arts; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Music Entertainment; Human Needs; Music Industry; Los Angeles; California; United States
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Deshpandé, Rohit. "Street Symphony: Making Human Connections Through Music." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 520-701, October 2019.
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