Today I came across a new podcast called ‘Business Wars‘. It profiles some of the biggest format or competitor battles over the past 20 years. As I travelled from Guernsey to Jersey I listened to a 5-part series covering Napster’s battle against the record labels during the late 90s and early 2000s. It was brilliant.
I’m slightly biased as I’m quite familiar with the topic. In the early 2000s I lectured a new university course called ‘e-commerce law’ where copyright on the internet was a hot topic. Then in 2004, I researched & wrote my university honors thesis (about 100,000 words) on the impact of digital music distribution on established music industry participants, applying disruptive technology theories from Clayton Christensen & interviewing CEOs of Sony Music, EMI & independent labels, as well as music retailers including HMV.
Beyond the Napster case study, Business Wars covers Pepsi vs Coke, Southwest Airlines vs American, Red Bull vs Monster, Nike vs Adidas, & many more. I can’t wait to listen to more of them. To access it, head over to https://wondery.com/shows/business-wars/
Andrew Essa 