The Grateful Dead's Laid Back yet Surprisingly Shrewd Business Plan
"For the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's founding, the band will perform
three shows — their last — in Chicago this weekend. According to Billboard magazine, the "Fare Thee Well" concerts will bring in an estimated $50 million. That's pretty impressive, considering that band's lead guitarist died two decades ago."
"If there's one thing the Grateful Dead has proven it knows how to do well, it's improvise. The song 'Dark Star' alone launched hundreds of unique live jams, and that freeform lifestyle followed the band offstage."
"'Improvisation became the one point in their very changeable universe, applied not only to music, but also to business,' says Dennis McNally, the band's biographer and former publicist."