The Long Tail 2

OK, so you may have clicked from a couple of posts ago, that I just started reading Chris Anderson's book - I know I'm a bit late, but to be fair I bought it yonks ago, and have only just found time to pick it up. It also fell down the reading list order because it was hardback - way too heavy for modern-day, stingy, air baggage allowances!

Apart from being an easy read, full of consumer brands and products that I, and most readers can easily identify with, it's just soooo common sense. The kind of book that has you nodding, smiling and saying to yourself "Oh yeah.." in a sort of light bulb-moment way.

I love the way it was compiled - almost with an open source approach - with lots of view, opinions (both expert and consumer), taken into account. This has probably resulted in the concepts being so clearly explained and illustrated.

My biggest question is why I haven't noticed The Long Tail economics having a massive impact on the way record labels develop and promote new music. I assume there must be more to it than simply giving the kiss of life to the back-catalogue cash cows?? Anyhow, I have a theory, but for once I'm going to suspend judgement and keep reading.

The Long Tail - What does it mean for music

In October 2004, for Wired, Chris Anderson, in the article which was the pre-cursor to his book, wrote "Forget squeezing millions from a few megahits at the top of the charts. The future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream."

Instinctively, I think we all agree with it, yet from afar it still looks as though the megabucks, development money and time only go into one-hit, or one-album wonders. Even though the platforms, infrastructure, recording artists and the paying public are probably ready for Anderson-style ways of doing business.

Take me as an example. I am a fan of a wide range of music - from mainstream rock and pop, commercial rnb, to folk and the odd bit of jazz and country. Reason being, what I really love is songs - melody, harmony, stories - and great vocals. So, I'm constantly on the lookout for new, often lesser known artists who fit this criteria - like Teedra Moses, Jazmine Sullivan, Ryan Shaw - whose music I can legally download, or better still whose gigs I can go to. And, occasionally I find a new one! but it is definitely not easy, as all airtime and promo attention is dedicated to the next Britney, Justin or X-factor sensation.

So, my conclusion - "If you build it, they will come..." Even in these credit crunch times, people will pay for good music, of a kind that they like, and that lifts their spirits. It just needs to be easier to get hold of.