Rockonomics
A Backstage Tour of What the Music Industry Can Teach Us about Economics and Life
About the book
Alan B. Krueger, who once chaired the president's Council of Economic Advisers, explains basic economics through the music business. He treats the industry as a leading indicator, among the first to be disrupted by new technology, and draws on interviews with band members, executives, managers and promoters along with data on royalties, streaming, tours and merchandise. A central finding is that income from selling songs has collapsed even for stars such as Taylor Swift and James Taylor, while concerts now bring in the real money: in 2017 Billy Joel made $27.4 million on stage and under $2 million from records and streaming. Krueger also examines how songs become popular and how new artists break out in a winner-take-all economy.
Nobel economist Richard Thaler praised Krueger for covering every stage of a business that keeps reinventing itself, from records to streaming, and Quincy Jones praised Krueger's mind as a model of left and right brain balance.
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This book has 4 recommendations
Quincy Jones (Musician)
An absolutely brilliant mind. The definition of left and right brain balance!!
Donald Passman (Music Industry Attorney & Author)
The music biz has been down a twisted path, but Alan Krueger brings it all together in a smart, relatable way. Rockonomics has lessons far beyond the music industry, so fasten your seat belt and come along for the ride.
Cliff Burnstein (Co-Founder/Q-Prime)
I actually majored in economics in college. A few years later, I bumped into a former classmate who asked me what I was doing. I told him I was handling rock radio promotion for Mercury Records. He said, ‘What a waste of your education.’
I hope he reads Rockonomics, so he'll find out I didn't end up as a total loser.
Richard Thaler (Author, Professor, Winner of Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences)
This music business keeps re-inventing itself (from records, to tape, to CDs to streaming) and Alan Krueger covers all the bases. As one former LSE student once sang: ‘its only rock and roll but I like it, like it, yes I do.’ That applies to this book too.
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Quincy Jones, Donald Passman, Cliff Burnstein, Richard Thaler