HBR generates nearly 30% of its total revenue and over 50% of its profits from alternative revenue streams beyond its magazine. After publishing articles, HBR sells individual articles, licenses content to corporations, and leverages different formats like books and audio editions. It focuses on promoting content to corporate and academic markets. For corporations, HBR sells print and online rights to articles for promotional use. In academia, it reaches out to faculty and students by mapping articles to textbooks, custom packages, and an online course platform. HBR also publishes over 50 profitable books each year related to its content and creates special editions for different customer groups.

1. More Than a Magazine
Alternate Revenue Streams of the
Harvard Business Review
Edward Ruehle
Harvard Business School Publishing
Today’s Agenda
n Revenue Picture
n Everything that Happens After the
Magazine is Published
n Focus
¡ Corporate Market Opportunities
¡ Academic Market Opportunities
¡ Books, New Products, Special Editions
The Revenue Picture
n Alternate sources of revenue are nearly
30% of total revenue for HBR
n Alternate sources of revenue are more than
50% of profit for HBR
n HBR occupies a unique position in the
market—part journal and part magazine
¡ But many of its opportunities can apply to more
scholarly publications
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2. After the Magazine is
Published….
n We sell individual articles
¡ Corporate and academic markets
¡ Print, PDF, custom editions
¡ License to corporations and content aggregators
n We leverage different formats
¡ Hard cover and paperback
¡ Audio editions
¡ Syndicate through the New York Times Syndicate
¡ Special editions and new products
n Repeat the process across eight foreign language
editions
This Afternoon’s Focus
n Corporate Market—Sales for Promotional
Use
¡ Print and Online
n Academic Markets
¡ Reaching Faculty
¡ New Outreach and Sales Programs
¡ Electronic Rights and Issues
n The Opportunities for Books
n Special Editions and New Products
Corporate Market—Sales for
Promotional Use
n What do companies want to do?
n Promote the fact that they have been
covered
¡ Clients, prospects, media, investment
community
n Raise awareness of an issue they cater to
n Gifts, promotions, and “customer satisfiers”
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3. Print Versions: What Can the
Customer Do?
n Customer may add logo and framing
content
n Rights: reproduce and distribute x copies
n Policies
¡ Customer logo may not appear near ours
¡ Customer content must be clearly separate
¡ Customer may not adapt or alter content
Print Versions: What Does the
Customer Pay?
n We print and provide finished goods
n Start with base price for permission-to-
copy
¡ +15% for basic black & white with logo
and text on inside cover
¡ Four color, special covers, other special
features we mark up an additional 20%
Online: What Can the
Customer Do?
n “Single Click”
¡ HBSP hosts and meters usage
¡ We provide the customer a URL that they
may post to a web site
¡ Logo and content policies are the same
¡ Rights: mirror print rights—distribute x
copies electronically
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4. Online: What Will the
Customer Pay?
n We are providing hosting services
n Start with the base price for
permission-to-copy
¡ Deduct 30% (no cost of goods)
n But, the customer must commit and
pay for a quantity in advance
Academic Markets: Reaching
Faculty
n Web site with all content available to faculty
for sampling
n Customer service and key account
managers to help faculty find material
n E-newsletters and online merchandising by
topic and course
n Work with bookstores and distributors
n Academic price—50% of corporate price
Academic Markets: New
Outreach
n Mapping articles to major textbook
chapters
¡ HBSP editors but also textbook authors
creating special packages
n New metadata—search by teaching
purpose
n Course platform—selling directly to
students
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5. Academic Markets: Electronic
Rights and Issues
n Student has the right to view online for
duration of course and make one print
copy
n HBR is not encrypted—no evidence of
significant piracy
n Libraries and e-reserves
¡ Restrict license to prohibit use of e-
reserves
The Opportunities for Books
n HBSP publishes more than 50 HBR books
¡ 30+ trade paperbacks
¡ 20+ trade hardcover (edited by well-known
expert)
n Highly profitable if you are part of a media
organization with book publishing and
distribution capability
¡ Low editorial/production costs
¡ Often no author royalty
n Also valuable for branding, visibility, and
new partnerships
Special Editions and New
Products
n HBR creates special editions for different
customer groups
¡ HBR OnPoint : value-added content for corporate
training customers
¡ Articles bundled with original research for
consulting firms and other core customers
n HBR partners with “competitors” to create
more valuable products and services
¡ Partnership with Economist Group to create
definitive management web site from sources
around the world
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