ABSTRACT

This chapter uses human capital theory to explain how the team that would become the Beatles was assembled, with particular attention to the substitution of drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr. As in any start-up enterprise, the founders—in this case John Lennon and Paul McCartney—defined the vision and trajectory of the band in its nascent phases of its growth. The prototype was piloted in Liverpool, but its commercial version emerged over several months of residencies in Hamburg night clubs and then regular gigs throughout Great Britain. This chapter will draw on human capital theory, labor specialization, and the trial and error process embedded in a dynamic entrepreneurialism to explain how the Beatles experimented and refined their sound, honed their skills as musicians and a band to create a uniquely differentiated product, and used popular music covers (rather than original songs) to calibrate the band’s human capital and contribution in the industry of live music that allowed them to identify and leverage a market niche that was scalable to sustainable portions and ultimately to a global platform.