Apple accomplished this feat by relying on its own expertise in the twin fields of hardware and software, but without going into the music business itself.
Much earlier than this, Sony had gone Hollywood.
Flush with profits generated in no small measure by the Walkman, and taking advantage of the strong Japanese yen, Sony acquired CBS Records for US$2 billion in 1988 and Columbia Pictures for US$3.4 billion the next year.
Neither transaction could be said to have been the outcome of thoughtful internal discussions about strategy.
The possibility of marrying hardware and entertainment was a consideration, but a fuzzy one.
However dubious the original rationale, the music and movie acquisitions have turned into Sony's brightest, most profitable spot at the moment. It's the portfolio effect you would expect in a classic conglomerate:
Parts of the business that are doing well cover for those that are not. Of course, the theory assumes that a given unit's difficulties are merely cyclical.
But Stringer's consumer electronics business, whose DNA only supports premium pricing and lacks the software gene, may not bounce back, ever.
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