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- January 2019 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
SoundCloud: Subscription Streaming?
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
Keywords: Audio; Recording; Artist; Music; Music Downloads; Streaming; Radio; Subscription; Subscription Model; Mainstream; Growth; Lawsuit; Licensing; Customers; Platform; Pivot; Music Entertainment; Strategy; Leadership; Business Model; Decision Making; Advertising; Digital Platforms; Music Industry; Europe; Germany; Sweden; United States
- May 2010
- Article
Bye Bye Bundles: The Unbundling of Music in Digital Channels
By: Anita Elberse
Fueled by digital distribution, unbundling is prevalent in many information industries. What is the effect of this unbundling on sales? And what bundle characteristics drive this effect? I empirically examine these questions in the context of the music industry, using... View Details
- 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
- August 2006 (Revised March 2008)
- Case
iPod vs. Cell Phone: A Mobile Music Revolution?
By: David B. Yoffie, Travis D. Merrill and Michael Slind
In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile phones was emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant position in the digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portable digital music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple controlled more than half of... View Details
- 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
- 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