98828 - LABORATORY OF MANAGEMENT OF DIGITAL MEDIA

Learning outcomes

The student is expected to understanding the functions and processes of transformations within the media industries and the innovations connected to new digital technologies applied to creative industries.

Course contents

Session 1: Monday 16 September (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Changes in the Media Arena

• Introduction and Course Presentation
• What is so special about Economics of Media?
• Supply and demand in the Mass Media Value Chain
• Blockbusters Strategies vs Long-tail

Reading Material

“Tarzan Economics” (chapter 2-3), Will Page, Simon & Schuster, 2021

“Blockbusters” (chapter 1), Anita Elberse, Faber & Faber, 2013

“Should you invest in the long tail?”, Anita Elberse, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2008

 

Session 2: Thursday 19 September (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Introduction to the Music Industry

• Recorded Music Industry: introduction
  • Industry timeline
  • Market size
  • The Value Chain of Music Industry: Key Actors
• Guest: Daniele Demartini (CFO and HR Director – Universal Music Group Italy)
  • The evolution of the music market in Italy
  • The evolution of the role of record companies

 

Session 3: Monday 23 September (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Spotify: Disrupting the music industry

• Case Study Introduction. Spotify: disrupting the music industry
  • Streaming: key concepts
  • Streaming: misconceptions
• Spotify’s success and competition
• Spotify’s Business Model

Group Discussion

Teaching material:

Case Study: “Spotify: Face the Music (Update 2024)” (Govert Vroom, Isaac Sastre Boquet, IESE Business School, 2024)

 

Session 4: Thursday 26 September (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Making the business sustainable

• The problems with Spotify’s business model and possible solutions

  Teaching material:

  Case Study: “Spotify: Face the Music (Update 2024)” (Govert Vroom, Isaac Sastre Boquet, IESE Business School, 2024)

  Group Discussion

• New trends in the music industry
• Music Industry: wrap-up

Session 5: Monday 30 September (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Disruption in the video industry

• Introduction: from television to total video
• Pre-Streaming TV Industry Structure
• Disrupting digital streaming: Netflix
• The evolution of Netflix’s business model

Group Discussion

Teaching material:

Case Study: “Netflix Inc.” (Frank T. Rotharmel, David R. King, 2023)

 

Session 6: Thursday 3 October (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

A more intense competition and new gatekeepers

• Causes and effects of the streaming disruption
• Media companies entering the streaming market: the Disney+ case study

• Competition Overview: the main players
• The end of “Peak TV”: reasons
• New business models for TV streaming: the Roku Case Study

Group Discussion

Teaching material:

Case Study “Disney’s Entry into the Streaming Battle” (Sayan Chatterjee and Scott O’Neill, University of Virginia, 2022).

Case Study “Roku: Designing a Business Model for TV Streaming” (Tiwaloli Ilori, Ivey Business School, 2023).

 

Session 7: Monday 7 October (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

From Growth to Profitability: Focus on Monetization Models

• Beyond SVOD: emerging monetization models
• Introduction to FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television)
• Guest: Cristiano Girola (Content Director Southern Europe Pluto – Paramount)
  • Peculiarities of FASTs and Pluto business and programming model
    

 

Session 8: Thursday 10 October (9-12) – Aula Guglielmi

Making the media industry sustainable

• Post-Streaming TV Industry Structure
• Present trends in the streaming industry: Reinventing Cable TV?
• Developing new strategies to survive in the new world: The Eurostar Pictures case study

  Group Discussion

• Wrap up and Conclusions: takeaways from this course.

Teaching material:

Case Study “The Trouble in Streaming: Looking to Disrupt Netflix” (Daniel Clark, Ivey Business School, 2023).

Readings/Bibliography

• Course Presentation
• Your notes
• Case studies
• Articles shared during the course

Teaching methods

• Frontal Lessons
• Class Assignment: Case Studies

Assessment methods

Individual Oral Examination: 3-4 questions, ca 15 minutes

Teaching tools

Resources in case you want to know a little more about the digital media industry

 

Books

• Alan B. Krueger, “Rockonomics: What the Music Industry Can Teach Us About Economics (and Our Future)” (John Murray Hachette)
• Patrik Wikström, “The Music Industry” (Polity)
• Will Page, “Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles for Pivoting Through Disruption” (Simon & Schuster)
• Anita Elberse, “Blockbusters. Why big hits – and big risks – are the future of the entertainment business” (Faber & Faber)
• Gillian Doyle, “Understanding Media Economics”, (SAGE Pubblications)
• Donald S. Passman, “All you need to know about the music industry” (Simon & Schuster)
• Martin Spinelli, Lance Dann, “Podcasting – The Audio Media Revolution” (Bloomsbury)
• Maria Eriksson, Rasmus Fleischer, Anna Johansson, Pelle Snickars, Patrick Vonderau, “Spotify Teardown” (The MIT Press)
• Ramon Lobato, “Netflix Nations: The Geography of Digital Distribution” (NYU Press)
• Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer, “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention” (Penguin)
• John B. Thompson [https://www.amazon.com/John-B-Thompson/e/B001IU0QSC/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1], “Book Wars: The Digital Revolution in Publishing” (Editore: Polity Press)
• Mattias Frey, “MUBI and the Curation Model of Video On Demand” (Palgrave MacMillan)
• Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang, “Streaming, Sharing, Stealing” (The MIT Press)
• Ed Catmull, “Creativity, Inc” (Bantam Press)
• Robert Iger, “The Ride of a Lifetime” (Random House)
• Lelio Simi, “Mediastorm – Il nuovo ordine mondiale dei media” (Hoepli – Italian)
• Mu$icBiz – L’industria musicale ai tempi dello streaming (Hoepli – Italian)
  

 

Documentaries/Series

• The Defiant Ones (Netflix)
• Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 (Netflix)
• Quincy (Netflix)
• The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing (Youtube)
• FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (Netflix)
• The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
• The Great Hack (Netflix)
• The Pixar Story (Disney+)
• The Playlist (Netflix)

 

Podcast

• Business Wars: Netflix vs Blockbuster
• Business Wars: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun
• The Town with Matthew Belloni
• Acquired (Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal)
• Bubble Trouble (Will Page and Richard Kramer)
• The Music Industry Podcast
• The New Music Business (Ari Herstand)
• Your Morning Coffee (Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart)
• The MBW Podcast: Talking Trends (Music Business Worldwide)
• The New Music Business (Ari Herstand)
• Crew Call with Anthony D’Alessandro (Deadline)
• The Ankler Podcast
• The Business (Kim Masters)

 

Newsletters

• Soundbite by Ashley Carman (Bloomberg)
• The Medium from Parqoor by Andrew Rosen (The Information)
• Evan Shapiro: Media War & Peace
• Fearless Media with Peter Csathy
• Benedict’s Newsletter (Benedict Evans)
• Screentime by Lucas Shaw (Bloomberg)
• Entertainment Strategy Guy
• What I’m Hearing - Matthew Belloni (Puck)
• Variety
• Deadline
• The Hollywood Reporter

Office hours

See the website of Luca Bersaglia