Music, Behaviours & Economic Crises: Three Great Business Books for the Summer

By Anonymous | 25 November 2015 |

This week we’re continuing our series of the best business books of 2015.

Our selections are an interesting lot that combines the music industry, behavioural economics and a hard-hitting analysis of the 2008 recession and the 1930’s depression.

We think this list of books is just as strong as our previous lists. Enjoy!

How Music Got Free The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy, Stephen Witt

It’s pretty common knowledge that CD’s met their demise as soon as mp3’s became popular. But what’s often missed in the history of digital music are the behind-the-scenes players who played important roles in the emergence of digital music.

Stephen Witt’s book does just that, highlighting the contributions of previously unknown characters like the German geniuses who invented the mp3 and the music employee who, Witt says, was also a major player in the pirated music scene. Click here to read a fascinating article Witt wrote about Glover.

Witt’s book is an interesting conversation starter, sparking debates about forecasting threats (music industry executives caught on to pirated CD-to-mp3 piracy far too late) and dealing with change.

Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioural Economics, Richard Thaler

Old economic theory states that consumers are, for the most part, rational beings who make their choices by logic. But as most of us already know, that isn’t always the case. Bias and emotions play a part in consumers’ decisions.

Thaler’s book is a history lesson in the lifespan of behavioural economics. He talks about how the movement came about, what research about behaviour and economics has found and what may be in store for us in the future. Psychology, economics, and advice are all draw the reader into this book.

 

Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, The Great Recession and the Uses – and Misuses of History, Barry Eichengreen

Let’s be honest. The pain and difficulty of the Global Financial Crisis is something we probably remember more often than we’d like to.

Now that we’re a few years removed from the GFS, we can look back on it and analyse what went wrong and why we couldn’t prevent the disastrous consequences felt around the globe. And, more importantly, what we can do in the future to avoid repeating history.

Eichengreen did exactly that. He analysed the 2008 crisis as well as the global depression of the 1930’s, uncovering similarities and differences between the way lawmakers, politicians and economists responded to both financial crises.

This book is a must-read for any student of history and businesspeople/entrepreneurs who don’t want to see history repeated.

More to Come…

We place a premium on speakers who are eloquent at the podium and experienced at their subject matter. Our finance speakers have real-world experience in some of Australia’s most influential finance companies. Our entrepreneur speakers and business speakers are leaders in conceptualizing and creating profitable organizations.

These are just two examples of how we provide you with keynote speakers and guest speakers who know exactly what they’re talking about. Click here to contact us and begin the conversation about how you can hire the perfect speaker for your upcoming event.