It’s 2000, and the record industry is just waking up to a major threat to its business model: an online file-sharing system created by a 17-year-old kid from Massachusetts. With Napster — so called after the nickname its founder earned on the basketball court — users can download music for free. Why would anyone pay 18 or 20 bucks for a CD ever again?
Mus ... Show More
Aug 2019
Business Battles | Monster vs Beats by Dre | 1
<p>With all the hype around portable and smart speakers, it’s easy to forget that they didn’t always exist. In fact, it took one fateful meeting with Monster Cables and Interscope Records to really kick the industry off. In this one-episode Business Battle, we explore the time wh ... Show More
26m 16s
Oct 2021
Universal Music Group: The Gatekeepers of Music - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 32]
Today we’re breaking down Universal Music Group. As one of the largest music businesses in the world, UMG is home to many of the world’s greatest artists, including Taylor Swift, U2, and The Beatles catalog. A discussion on UMG requires a deep dive into the history of music itsel ... Show More
1h 14m
Sep 2018
How to build trust fast, w/Spotify's Daniel Ek
<p>Normally, trust = consistency + time. But when you're scaling fast, you have to find shortcuts to trust, with your partners and your users. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek knows a thing or two about this. When he founded Spotify, he did what few disruptors ever do: He worked with the in ... Show More
37m 50s
Mar 2023
Spotify’s Daniel Ek — How to build trust fast
<p>Normally, trust = consistency + time. But when you're scaling fast, you have to find shortcuts to trust, with your partners and your users. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek knows a thing or two about this. When he founded Spotify, he did what few disruptors ever do: He worked with the in ... Show More
37m 50s
Jun 2022
Pitchfork: Ryan Schreiber
<p>While working at his local record store at age 20, Ryan Schreiber dreamt that his scrappy music review webpage might one day grow into an influential music publication. Working out of his parents’ house, he wrote about indie music because he loved it, and recruited like-minded ... Show More
1h 16m