Summer Reads: No Business Like Show Business!
Summertime and big-budget blockbusters have gone hand in hand for fifty years since 1975's Jaws. Looking at the box office returns, you've likely already participated in some of the season's biggest hits, from the high-flying Superman to the billion-dollar remake of Lilo and Stitch. But the stories behind the scenes can be just as compelling as the entertainment they produce.
Beat the heat with these books that focus on the "business" as much as the "show", exploring all the fascinating ways entertainment and entrepreneurship intersect across movies, TV, music, video games, and more.
Happy Summer from all of us at Pardee Library!
Featured Reading
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K-Pop Innovation: The Future of Korean Innovation that Took the World by Storm
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2023A refreshing perspective on K-pop's success by applying established business innovation theories to the area of pop music business. Includes first-hand interviews from leading K-pop companies and an in-depth case study on SM Entertainment. -
The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Record Store: A Global History
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2023Record stores speak volumes about our relationship to shopping, capitalism, and art. This book takes a comprehensive look at what individual record stores meant to individual people, to communities, to musical genres, and to society in general. -
Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2023A deep dive into the production world of the iconic animation studio. By reconstructing the history of Studio Ghibli through its own records, promotional documents, and staff interviews, this book offers a new perspective on the industrial history of Japanese animation.
Show Business Books
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Mickey and the Teamsters: A Fight for Fair Unions at Disney
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2023The little-known story of Teamsters Local 385, the union that represents the "cast members", performers who portray Disney characters in the theme parks. Journalist Mike Schneider offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the hidden struggles that surround Walt Disney World, the largest single-site workforce in the United States. -
All You Need to Know about the Music Business
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Location: Online and Law Library ML3790 .P35 2023Publication Date: 2023Dubbed "the industry bible", All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Donald Passman is the go-to guide for everyone in the music business through eleven editions, over thirty years, and over a half a million copies sold. -
Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2023The story of the struggle for power at Paramount Global, the multibillion-dollar entertainment empire controlled by the Redstone family, and the dysfunction, misconduct, and deceit that threatened its future. -
Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2024From a New York Times bestselling author and investigative journalist comes The Social Network for the video game industry, a riveting examination of Blizzard Entertainment's rise and shocking downfall. -
Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2022An eye-opening and deeply reported narrative that details the surprising role of the movie business in the high-stakes contest between two world powers, presented with wit by the Wall Street Journal's Erich Schwartzel. -
The New Musician: The Art of Entrepreneurship in Today's Music Business
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2024In today's music landscape, entrepreneurship is an art that is just as vital as creativity. Artists, business leaders, educators, and professionals reflect on the successes and challenges of their careers and impart advice to aspiring and working musicians. -
Derivative Media: How Wall Street Devours Culture
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2024Andrew deWaard shows how the financial sector is dismantling the creative capacity of cultural industries. Derivative Media offers readers the critical financial literacy necessary to understand the destructive financialization of film, television, and popular music--and provides a plan to reverse this dire threat. -
The Beatles and Economics: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and the Making of a Cultural Revolution
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2020How did the Beatles become so successful? What factors contributed to their success? Why did they break up? The answers can be found with economic analysis. -
Univision, Telemundo, and the Rise of Spanish-Language Television in the United States
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Location: OnlinePublication Date: 2020Craig Allen traces the development of two prominent yet little-studied powerhouses, Univision and Telemundo. He demonstrates the endurance, innovation, and popularity of Spanish-language television and its key place in Latinx history in the U.S.A.
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