Synopses & Reviews
Why the apparently risky strategy of making outsized bets is the key to achieving consistent success in the entertainment industry, by one of Harvard Business Schools most popular professorsIts one of the best lines ever uttered about the entertainment business: “Nobody knows anything.” But William Goldmans famous words no longer apply, because todays smartest executives and stars have discovered a powerful truth. Building a business around blockbuster products—the movies, television shows, albums and books that are hugely expensive to produce and market—is the only strategy that can consistently deliver stellar profits.
Anita Elberse, Harvard Business Schools expert on the entertainment industry, has done groundbreaking research on the worlds of media and sports for over a decade. Now she has written an utterly original book that explains why the blockbuster strategy works. Using case studies emerging from her unprecedented access to such companies as Warner Bros., Marvel Enterprises, and the NFL—along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James—Elberse demonstrates that if big bets are risky, playing it safe by limiting costs only increases the odds of failure.
Full of inside stories about some of the worlds most innovative companies and compelling stars, Blockbusters proves that the rise of digital technologies only enhances the importance of blockbusters and the power of superstars. As managers across a range of industries come to realize that truth, this book will become required reading for everyone attempting to navigate the high-stakes world of modern commerce.
Review
"A compelling answer for those who wonder why Hollywood seems obsessed with superheroes and all hit songs sound alike. The formula works. . . [In Blockbusters,] Elberse delivers an accessible, convincing accounting for the ways in which contemporary entertainment is produced, marketed and consumed."—Kirkus Reviews
"Good books merit a second reading—Blockbusters merits at least three. First, read it for fun. Anita Elberse describes the history of how blockbuster products and star entertainers were built. If youve ever read arguments about whether leaders are made or born, youll love this. Then read it again for Elberses model, which explains the process by which hits and stars are made. This will make you feel like Columbus discovering a world that has long existed but few have seen. Then read it a third time, using her model to understand how other stars - leaders in politics, business and academia, for starters - often can be built in the same way. There is hope - because the world truly is entertaining. Blockbusters is a delightful, thought-provoking book." —Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovators Dilemma
Review
*** One of Amazon's Best Books of 2013 ****** One of
The Globe and Mail's Best Business Books of 2013 ***
"How come so many movies are sequels, adaptations and reboots? Why do music studios spend so much on just a handful of superstar artists? And since when did TV shows become so lush and sophisticated? . . . [Elberses] great new book, Blockbusters, explains that the . . . questions share one answer. The blockbuster strategy—betting more and more money on fewer and fewer titles—has taken over the entertainment world."—TheAtlantic.com
"In her new book Blockbusters …[Elberse] argues quite convincingly that in the music industry (in addition to cinema, television, books, and more) record labels are most profitable when they focus their funds on a small number of big-shot, cant-miss juggernauts."—Billboard
"Forceful . . . Elberse analyzes the realm of culture with a rigorous, numbers-driven approach."—The Boston Globe
"Persuasive… Elberses research has now culminated in the publication of her first book, Blockbusters, in which she makes a bold…case against fiscal timidity in the entertainment industry."—Bloomberg Businessweek
"Convincing… Elberse's Blockbusters builds on her already impressive academic résumé to create an accessible and entertaining book."—Financial Times
"Blockbusters demonstrates that [a blockbuster] strategy usually beats the more cautious approach of spreading around lower-amount investments in a larger number of projects, a recipe for mediocrity that seldom captures the publics imagination."—Forbes
"A compelling answer for those who wonder why Hollywood seems obsessed with superheroes and all hit songs sound alike. The formula works. . . [In Blockbusters,] Elberse delivers an accessible, convincing accounting for the ways in which contemporary entertainment is produced, marketed and consumed."—Kirkus Reviews
"As Blockbusters reveals, pursuing projects with high risk and high reward is actually the best long-term business model."—Omnivoracious.com
"The book effectively explains the paradox of why more entertainment channels result in fewer choices, and offers a welcome respite from the usual business titles."—Publishers Weekly
"Fortunate readers of the book are claiming that Anita Elberses Blockbusters is a compelling answer to those wondering why Hollywood seems obsessed with superheroes. Her book merits, not one, two, but three readings."—SciFied.com
"In Blockbusters, Anita Elberse… argues that the blockbuster strategy—a broad formula that assumes investing in big potential winners will account for a disproportionate share of returns—now governs consumer markets, from restaurants and hotels to electronics." —The Wall Street Journal
"Good books merit a second reading—Blockbusters merits at least three. First, read it for fun. Anita Elberse describes the history of how blockbuster products and star entertainers were built. If youve ever read arguments about whether leaders are made or born, youll love this. Then read it again for Elberses model, which explains the process by which hits and stars are made. This will make you feel like Columbus discovering a world that has long existed but few have seen. Then read it a third time, using her model to understand how other stars - leaders in politics, business and academia, for starters - often can be built in the same way. There is hope - because the world truly is entertaining. Blockbusters is a delightful, thought-provoking book."—Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma
Synopsis
Why the future of popular culture will revolve around ever bigger bets on entertainment products, by one of Harvard Business Schools most popular professorsWhats behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Entertainment, 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 over their rivals?
Anita Elberse, Harvard Business Schools expert on the entertainment industry, has done pioneering research on the worlds of media and sports for more than a decade. Now, in this groundbreaking book, she explains a powerful truth about the fiercely competitive world of entertainment: building a business around blockbuster products—the movies, television shows, songs, and books that are hugely expensive to produce and market—is the surest path to long-term success. Along the way, she reveals why entertainment executives often spend outrageous amounts of money in search of the next blockbuster, why superstars are paid unimaginable sums, and how digital technologies are transforming the entertainment landscape.
Full of inside stories emerging from Elberses unprecedented access to some of the worlds most successful entertainment brands, Blockbusters is destined to become required reading for anyone seeking to understand how the entertainment industry really works—and how to navigate todays high-stakes business world at large.
About the Author
Anita Elberse, the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, is one of the youngest female professors to be awarded tenure in the Schools history. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Variety, and Fortune. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Prologue: Show Business—a Business of Blockbusters 1
One: Betting on Blockbusters 15
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Grand Central Publishing, Marvel Entertainment
Two: Launching and Managing Blockbusters 56
Lady Gaga, Octone Records
Three: Investing in Superstars 83
Real Madrid, Boca Juniors
Four: How Superstars Use Their Powers 118
MGM and Tom Cruise, Maria Sharapova, LeBron James
Five: Will Digital Technology End the Dominance of Blockbusters? 150
YouTube, Hulu, the Metropolitan Opera
Six: Will Digital Technology Threaten Powerful Producers? 187
Radiohead, Major League Baseball, the National Football League
Seven: The Future of Blockbuster Strategies 220
Jay-Z, Lady Gaga
Epilogue: No Business Like Show Business? 251
Marquee New York City
Notes 267
Acknowledgments 289
Index 295