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Why the future of popular culture will revolve around ever bigger bets on entertainment products, by one of Harvard Business School's most popular professors
What's 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 School's 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 Elberse's unprecedented access to some of the world's 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 today's high-stakes business world at large.
- Sales Rank: #252083 in Books
- Published on: 2013-10-15
- Released on: 2013-10-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.49" h x 1.23" w x 6.46" l, 1.15 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 320 pages
From Booklist
Academic Elberse explains the entertainment industry’s blockbuster strategy, a risky approach that involves large resource allocation to acquire, develop, and market concepts with strong “hit” potential to offset average returns from other holdings. The entertainment industry includes fiercely competitive film, television, and music production companies; publishing houses; sports; and the nightlife market serving clubgoers and featuring high-profile DJs. The author’s intent is not to make a value judgment on entertainment products but, rather, to explain the workings of entertainment markets and describe the strategies that lead to success in attracting large numbers of consumers. Elberse notes that the blockbuster principles and practices of show business extend to other industries, citing Apple’s approach to selling computers, smartphones, and other hardware and Victoria’s Secret’s fashion shows with live performances and superstar models. Noting an increase in more competitive “winner-take-all” markets, the author concludes that “the business world . . . can learn quite a bit from the entertainment industry.” This thought-provoking book will appeal to students of all ages, those in the classroom and well beyond. --Mary Whaley
Review
“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? . . . [Elberse's] 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, can't-miss juggernauts.” ―Billboard
“Forceful . . . Elberse analyzes the realm of culture with a rigorous, numbers-driven approach.” ―The Boston Globe
“Persuasive… Elberse's 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 public's 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 Elberse's 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 you've ever read arguments about whether leaders are made or born, you'll love this. Then read it again for Elberse's 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
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 School's history. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Variety, and Fortune. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
Well-Researched and Enlightening Look at the Entertainment Industry
By Liebo
I am generally leery of books where the author posits a provocative wide-ranging thesis. Its probably largely Malcolm Gladwell's fault. So naturally I approached Anita Elberse's Blockbusters with some trepidation. She makes the claim that focusing on high-stakes major campaigns is essential to succeeding in today's entertainment industry and she employs a plethora of examples and research from movies, sports, books, music, and television to support her case. While it can be a bit dry at times, Blockbusters is a very informative and often fascinating examination of the current and future state of the entertainment industry and the increasing importance of tentpole products and campaigns.
Elberse is a professor at the Harvard Business School who understandably brings a wealth of knowledge regarding the industry. She also has experience researching topics such as the economic effects of the unbundling of songs from albums on the music industry (bad for record labels). Elberse has built up quite an impressive list of contacts (she actually just co-wrote an article with Sir Alex Ferguson), which greatly enriches the book. Blockbusters is able to glean insights from major players such as Maria Sharapova's agent and Alan Horn, the former president of Warner Bros. Rather than speculating on the strategies behind campaigns, Elberse is able to pick the brains of decision makers.
The book's main concept is an intriguing and seemingly counter-intuitive approach to entertainment. Essentially, the strategy of hedging bets with a diverse portfolio of products is not the path to profitability for entertainment entities. They should instead promote a few projects and bet big on their success. Elberse illustrates this point with a huge amount of well-argued statements backed up by data and examples, often with commentary from major players. Her book is wide in scope and ranges from Youtube to major opera houses and Argentinian soccer, yet she manages to explore all subjects in considerable depth. She is also refreshingly objective, acknowledging the drawbacks and inherent risks of the blockbuster strategy and why smaller-scale projects are still valuable (largely to facilitate the continued success of blockbusters). She explains the impact of blockbusters on producers and stars, and her chapters on endorsement deals are especially enlightening. I really enjoyed learning about the rationale behind athletic sponsorships for star athletes, such as when Elberse describes how Lebron James weighed three endorsement deals with different compensation models and King James' thought process behind his decision. And as would probably be expected by a new book, Blockbusters explores how recent technological innovations such as original content on Netflix and YouTube and speculates how they will impact the blockbuster model in the future.
Despite the author's academic background, her book is largely readable and suitable for mainstream audiences. Her target audience seems to be the kinds of people who are at least slightly interested in following entertainment trends in places like the Wall Street Journal and Economist. Some basic business knowledge would be nice to get the most out of Blockbusters but there are no complicated formulas or anything and she explains everything in a clear fashion that a layman can understand. She is more concerned with communicating the conclusions resulting from her complicated statistical analyses rather than how she derived them. While the epilogue looks at ways to apply her blockbuster thesis to other fields, this is (mercifully) not the kind of book with workshops every chapter detailing how to apply these lessons to your job. The book is meant to inform and entertain, and it largely succeeds on both counts.
At times Blockbusters reads like a case study, which is fine as far as imparting information goes but it doesn't always make for the most captivating reading material. Sometimes the book drags as she explains the nitty-gritty of particular financial details, but it is generally readable and many of the book's conclusions are fascinating. She is able to pack a ton of information and insight into the book and it improved my understanding of the entertainment business more than any other book.
In Sum
Anyone interested in learning about the current state of the entertainment industry and how it is being affected by technological innovations will get a lot out of Blockbusters. Elberse is able to combine the expertise of an academic with the clarity and eloquence of a journalist. She definitely subscribes to a higher burden of proof than many other books based on supporting a major thesis but even if you remain unconvinced about the blockbuster strategy you can still derive quite a bit of enjoyment and knowledge out of the book. Blockbusters ultimately maintained my interest through most of its pages and is worth seeking out for those interested in the topic.
7/10
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful.
seeking blockbusters is the best economic strategy for symbolic businesses even in the Internet era
By Douglas Galbi
Anita Elberse’s new book, Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-Taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment, convincingly argues that seeking blockbusters is the best economic strategy for symbolic businesses even in the Internet era. The Internet makes possible an unlimited diversity of digital content and services. That encourages belief that fragmentation of audiences and the proliferation of niche products will control business success. However, the Internet also enhances social influence that concentrates attention and purchases on the most popular symbolic products. In current business reality, enhancing social influence is more important. The most profitable business strategy is using all available communication tools to make a particular symbolic package highly popular: a blockbuster.
Social influence is hugely important. Persons learn about goods through other people. Valuations of goods are closely related to what persons perceive to be other persons’ valuations of goods. As Elberse explains, a film’s earnings can be well predicted from its opening weekend box office receipts. Opening weekend receipts depend on extensive pre-opening promotion and securing wide theatrical distribution. Because popularity and currency create value in social communication, economies of scale exist in marketing and promotion. To be a potential blockbuster, a film has to be good. But being good isn’t sufficient. Expensive, complex, and creative marketing and promotion creates blockbusters.[2] The Internet has changed means for marketing and promotion, but not the underlying economics of marketing and promotion.
Reduced distribution costs and globalized symbolic markets increase producers’ operating leverage. Operating leverage depends on the relation of fixed costs to marginal costs. Reductions in marginal costs relative to fixed costs increase the profitability of selling an additional unit. The Internet has reduced the marginal costs of distributing symbolic goods and expanded symbolic markets globally. The profitability advantage of blockbusters has thus become greater.
Elberse describes the successes of blockbuster strategies with case studies across mass-media entertainment. Alan Horn’s strategy of blockbuster films for Warner Brothers dominated Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman’s strategy of managing for margins at NBC. Grand Central Publishing paying a $1.25 million advance to an unknown author for rights to the book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World makes sense in light of the logic of blockbuster marketing. Elberse describes the rapidly scaled up marketing strategy by which Lady Gaga (who’s ugly) and Maria Sharapova (who’s gorgeous) became superstars. She explains why Real Madrid reasonably paid extraordinary sums for a roster of soccer galácticos. In the realm of new media, Jay-Z’s launch of his memoir Decoded and the online attack of the National Football League illustrate how large-scale promotion works across new and old media.
The value of blockbusters is not just a matter of big business. The growth of Facebook and Twitter relative to blogging suggests that most people in their own small social worlds are more engaged in being a celebrity than being an author. In materially wealthy, socially impoverished societies, providing social-psychic goods is a huge business opportunity. Twitter is all about attracting and manipulating social followers with low-cost tweets. Facebook’s fundamental business proposition to its users is providing “likes”: specific signs that “people like me.” Google, which merely offers the accounting proposition of “+1,” is having a difficult time competing with Facebook. Social media entrepreneurs exploring new business opportunities undoubtedly are developing technologies to effectively deliver “ugo girls.” A less attractive product is “atta boys.” Boys and men are less engaged in social media than are girls and women.
Human social nature favors commodified symbolic goods. If persons exchange symbolic goods that they themselves have made, the goods are enmeshed in complicated interpersonal dynamics. Socially distant, commodified symbolic goods are less socially complex and less socially risky. Scholars seeking to be collegial thus say little substantive to each other about their work. The structure of academic disciplines is essentially a cartel in restraint of personally troublesome discussions. Most academics participate in online discussion lists by posting nothing other than conference notices, publication notices, retirement notices, death notices, and other academic-bureaucratic items. In academy, having substantive, critical discussions is much less valuable than producing commodified, largely ignored items of scholarship (journal publications and books). The underlying social economics applies more generally to everyone, but is less starkly apparent.
The growing importance of blockbusters threatens effective democracy, creative diversity, and justified differences in wealth. The strategies and tools for marketing and promoting blockbusters differ little from those for promoting political candidates and political causes. Unlike entertainment goods, political leaders should make difficult decisions and get challenging tasks done. Focusing on marketing and promotion often impedes making good, timely decisions and actually doing necessary work. The imperatives of making blockbusters heighten the tensions between creative freedom and business success. A blockbuster culture is more symbolically homogenous and less supportive of individual creativity. Moreover, blockbusters create enormous income differences between superstars and mere team players. When superstars earn vastly greater income without meritocratic legitimacy, team players not deluded with improbable dreams of stardom become resentful and lose motivation to perform. A society too skewed toward blockbusters is likely to collapse spectacularly.[3]
Elberse’s Blockbusters is an important book for aspiring media moguls, aspiring celebrities, and everyone concerned about economic, social, and political trends. Elberse’s book deserves to be more widely read than Chris Anderson’s best-selling, awarding-winning, and factually misguided book, The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. Anderson, however, had better social connections in the business of promoting popular writing.[4] Anderson’s book also told a story that was less well-known and more popularly attractive. Big-media business has been described for more than a century. Elberse’s book cannot compete with celebrity gossip publications. The flyleaf of Elberse’s book highlights significant symbolic differentiation:
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 school’s history. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Variety, and Fortune.
Despite its greater factual merit, Elberse’s Blockbusters probably won’t become as popular as Anderson’s The Long Tail. That’s an unfortunate reality of the blockbuster economy.
I recommend seeking truth and enjoying creativity.
Notes:
[1] Heightened concern about security and trust with respect to digital products and services also favors concentration. The costs of security lapses and bad publicity are higher for more popular products. More popular products also have higher probability of exposure of security weaknesses and a larger revenue base to invest in making the product secure. On the other hand, more popular products are more valuable targets for cyber-criminals. On the whole, the balance seems to me to favor popular products. Using only popular apps is a simple, common approach to avoiding very insecure apps.
[2] Production costs for films vary widely. Spending more money in producing a film provides costly effects that can be marketed as distinctive signals. Creating value for marketing and promoting a work is not the same as creating value in the end-customer full experience.
[3] The epilogue to Blockbusters insightfully notes:
When you look close enough, the principles and practices of “show business” can be found in a wide cross section of companies and sectors in our economy — and increasingly so.
Elberse (2013) p. 261.
[4] Anderson worked as U.S. Business Editor for the Economist and was Editor-in-Chief of Wired when he wrote The Long Tail.
** review from purplemotes.net **
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Interesting i
By sanoe.net
Anita Elberse's "Blockbusters" is exactly as described. If you are looking for a book on the creative side of entertainment, this isn't the book. But if you want an explanation on how the 'event' movie began to take over the theaters and why as well as how singers like Lady Gaga could hit so suddenly and with such a blanket force, then this is the book to read.
Elberse gives the risks of the blockbuster mentality but also the patterns on why it works and continues to be deployed year after year by movie studios.
It isn't the most fun read if you love movies as an art form and you can recognize that the 'blockbuster' strategy essentially choked the art house theater out of existence in almost all places except for the largest of cities but it is still a very interesting read that makes a lot of sense when you consider the scope of Elberse's subject matter.
Definitely worth reading for a movie fan.
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