Ira Selkowitz and Jeff Nystrom
Colorado Lawyers for the Arts http://www.lawyersforthearts.org/

Although some don’t think the worlds of arts and business mix, successful musical artists know that having a sound business strategy can result in wider recognition of their talents, not to mention fewer legal entanglements. A seminal paper in the field of strategic management is “Are You Sure You Have a Strategy?” written by Donald C. Hambrick and James W. Fredrickson. The advice articulated in this paper is as timely now as it was when it first appeared in the Academy of Management Executive nearly a decade ago and our article applies the principles from this classic paper in the field of strategic management to the music business.