Innovation in the Cultural and Creative Industries

3The Innovative Business Model of Daft Punk

3.1. Introduction

Music, much like other activities in the creative industries, has undergone profound changes since the late 1990s with the transformation of physical media (such as compact discs or CDs) into digital media (in a specific format such as MP3) and the massive adoption of peer-to-peer download software such as Napster. Some actors have benefited from these developments, such as computer and MP3 player manufacturers (Apple with iPod and iTunes) or streaming services (such as Spotify or YouTube), while others have experienced an inexorable decline (physical media distributors such as Virgin Megastore in Europe or Tower Records in the USA) (Tellier 2017). These technological innovations have made it possible to implement new “ways of doing business” in the music industry by promoting new offers and innovative services through young companies (Moyon 2011). In management terms, what a company offers, the customers it targets and the way it is organized and remunerated constitute its business model. While the effects of these technological innovations on business models have been widely studied in management science research at the level of companies in the sector such as music labels, little work has focused on those who create music: the artists.

The first electronic music group to win a Grammy Award in 2015 for best album, the French duo Daft Punk, composed of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo, is an innovative ...