Author & Former Chief Economist, Spotify
Will Page: Biography at a Glance
- Will Page is an economist, author, and podcaster known for pioneering Rockonomics, the application of economics to music and digital media.
- Will's first book, Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles in Pivoting through Disruption, uses the lessons he learned from studying the rise and fall of the modern music industry to help individuals, organizations, and institutions recognize and adapt to the pace of disruption.
- As the former Chief Economist at Spotify, he launched his ongoing and widely anticipated annual report on the global value of music copyright which has become an essential tool for all music industry stakeholders.
- He also collaborated with the University of Chicago, applying behavioral economics to Spotify's popular Discover Weekly feature.
- As host of the Bubble Trouble podcast, Will is fueled by his passion for teaching economics to those who don’t think they’ll understand it, don’t want to understand it but have to, and the audience that has to understand it now.
- He is frequently called upon to advise governments on policy issues, measure the creative industries' contribution to the economy, advise leaders on how to tackle piracy, and examine major events’ impact on Live and Recorded Music Industries.
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Biography
Will Page is the author of the critically acclaimed book Tarzan Economics, which has been translated into five languages and published in paperback under the title Pivot. As the former Chief Economist of Spotify and PRS for Music, Will pioneered Rockonomics. He's lifted the lid on how new media platforms like Twitch and SoundCloud have changed the game by changing the rules, and shined a spotlight on Glocalisation, showing how and why local artists singing in their mother tongues are topping the charts on global streaming platforms.
At Spotify, Will launched his ongoing and widely anticipated annual report on the global value of music copyright, and at PRS he saved BBC 6Music. A passionate communicator, he co-hosts the Bubble Trouble podcast and is a regular contributor to BBC, Financial Times, and The Economist. Will also serves as a fellow at the London School of Economics, Edinburgh Futures Institute, and the Royal Society of the Arts.
Topics
Tarzan Economics: Eight Principles For Pivoting Through Disruption
According to Will Page, Spotify's first Chief Economist, the most crucial lesson you can learn in today's challenging business environment is how to change the fundamentals of what you do, rather than carry on fighting a battle that is already lost.
With the near destruction of the music industry at the hands of online piracy and its subsequent recovery on the backs of digital streaming platforms is more than just the biggest story of disruption and reinvention of the digital age. For Will, it is also a trove of insights on how to confront the metamorphosis we are all facing in dealing with the Covid-19 era, as accelerating tech and economic changes reshape our work, our play, and our very minds.
In this session, join Will as he extrapolates music's journey into eight guiding principles for pivoting through the ubiquitous disruption in nearly all industries and joyfully brings these insights to life, and provides a guide for knowing not just how to grab the new vine, but when.
