Essay 1
Troy Carter was faced with three touring options for Gaga after Kanye West officially withdrew from the already confirmed Fame Kills Tour (Elberse and Christensen 12). If I was Troy Carter, the best option among the three would be the second option, a theatre tour, in which case Gaga would perform but at a reduced scale than compared to the first involving an arena tour. In this case, Gaga at the time, was a relatively new artist and there was a possibility of not filling up arenas as the public was yet to understand her as an artist, her stand, and her music. This would potentially hurt her image and future endeavors in the music industry if the team pursued the first option.
In terms of the arena concert option, the potential earnings from gross ticket sales would range from $1.6 million and $3 million in each arena performance. In this case, even though the concert option would have better returns as the higher the risk, the higher the probability for good returns, the team should proceed carefully and control risk to protect future endeavors. In pursuing a solo tour, Carter can get an effective team in place to facilitate the change in management and logistics of the theatre tour. This would lead to potentially massive savings.
Gaga’s main partners are likely to have the same preference in the changed plans. Even though they have the capacity of managing arena tours, all partners have invested massively in Gaga and thus are in board in protecting her image for a successful future that lies ahead of Gaga. Live Nation and WME may not share the same incentives with Gaga and her recording label. The first instance view on music is driven primarily with record sales while the latter takes a more creative approach in dealing with music.
Even though Gaga only managed to perform in small-scaled venues during her Fame Ball tour as well as providing opening acts for other known musicians, efforts dedicated to her visibility can be mostly traced to 2009. Going forward, in terms of Gaga’s recording career and her touring, her team should focus more on building her as a brand and vocalize the singer’s stand. This approach would allow her fans relate her to current issues confronting society. Team Gaga can take advantage of Gaga’s social media presence by leveraging on her position as Queen of Twitter by scheduling Q &As where her fans can ask questions and Gaga would respond directly to the chosen tweets.
Concert-ticket sales are more important than compared to Record sales for Gaga. Being a genuine performer, the former would allow her express her creativity than compared to the latter. As such, Team Gaga could focus on her concert tours with artists of similar viewpoints.
Essay 2
The decision that Radiohead made in regards to releasing its album exclusively as a digital download marked a significant move in the music industry. This strategy was seen as a threat by recording labels whose main function is to promote and distribute an artist’s music. In this case, taking advantage of the web infrastructure created by technological companies such as Apple and Amazon was the start of launching an offensive against the dominant players in the music industry, such as major record companies.
Their idea of allowing listeners determine the album’s price is to say the least, an ingenious means of marketing music. In some instances, consumers may feel they are being taken advantage of as a result of what they consider exorbitant or exploitive prices. Therefore, giving them the opportunity to determine the price would result to what the mass audience consider a fair price, hence encourage many consumers purchase the album.
The implication of Radiohead’s move in the music industry is massive. Even though recording labels leverage from their wide influence in the industry spanning from traditional media and outlets, the embracement of technology available for artists creates an opportunity that newcomers can take advantage of and not rely exclusively on being signed by recording labels.
However, Radiohead’s strategy of allowing users determine the album’s price cannot be adopted by all artists. This approach worked for the band as it enjoys popularity from a global audience. As such, for new artists whose music is relatively unknown and does not have a wide reach, the implications can be dire as it could result in substantial losses.
Radiohead’s plan of embracing digital technology in music is in tandem with the overall impact the internet is having on the music industry. In this case, artists are now able to reach directly to consumers thereby cutting out the middleperson, or recording companies in this case. As a result, they are able to maintain ownership of their music and enjoy high profit margins.
Work Cited
Elberse, Anita, & Christensen, Michael. “Lady Gaga”. Harvard Business School, 2011.
