I was explaining the concept of 'The long tail' to a friend this morning.
The long tail - in brief:
Analysts are saying that the future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream (as opposed to the content at the top of the charts).
Longtail.typepad.com
I did a search for the Wired article and discovered that Chris Anderson, editor of Wired mag (who coined the term 'The long tail') has a blog on the subject. Very interesting & includes points of view from well known others in the left hand column. Check out the blog.
Chris Anderson also has a book due out on the subject in 2006 called "Hyperion".
From his about page:
"[The Long Tail] is about the effect of the technologies that have made it easier for consumers to find and buy niche products, thanks to the "infinite shelf-space effect"--the new distribution mechanisms, from digital downloading to peer-to-peer markets, that break through the bottlenecks of broadcast and traditional bricks and mortar retail.
The Wikipedia entry on the Long Tail does an excellent job of expanding on this."
What's so good about the long tail?
From my perspective:
1. I can't wait for obscure information, content, entertainment to be available at my fingertips.
2. I think it's so much more fair that 'hits' are 'hits' based on public consensus - rather than some media bigwig selecting the 'hit' and pumping it out for mass digestion through controlled channels.
Some examples of 'niche market content' that's proven surprisingly popular:
- 'Touching the Void' became a successful book - then movie. Read how.
- Ten Mile Tide became a popular US Indi band. Read how.
- An hour ago (following my discussion on subject with friend), I received this BBC article (not a completely niche market, but surprisingly popular nonetheless):
"Nearly 700,000 listeners of BBC Radio 3 downloaded live performances of Beethoven's first five symphonies, with number one proving the most popular."
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