My taste in music is what some call a combination of alternate and sounds from our parents’ generation. Although I can tolerate the occasional song by any pop starlet, my patience for this genre quickly runs thin. Recently I spent fruitless hours in a music store in an attempt to locate fresh sounds and instead merely located numerous CDs with scantily dressed women on the cover. Due to the frustration which resulted from this experience and the advice of a friend, I turned to the internet to provide me with some much needed variety. What I found was a refreshing selection of music, from bands, whose names I have never heard. This experience prompted my investigation of how some markets exist better online than they do in the physical and the topic of this blog.
Through researching this concept, I found that Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory best described this experience, illustrated as the web provides a medium with an ‘almost unlimited choice’ (Anderson, 2004, online). This theory identifies the differences between online and physical markets as varied focal points in the consumer demand curve (Anderson, 2004, online). Thereby in physical markets, the focus is on the high-volume end of the curve compared with online markets where the focus is on the ‘long tail’ of the curve (Anderson, 2004, online).
Anderson and other academics including US media scholar Jeffrey Ressner, claim that long tail markets are extremely common on the web (Ressner, 2006, online). This is illustrated through the existence of sites such as eBay and Amazon.com, both to which I am now an addict. Sites such as these are able to remain competitive and realise profit by selling smaller quantities of unusual products to many, compared with physical stores, which tend to sell large quantities of mainstream, popular items (Ressner, 2006, online). Furthermore, these virtual retailers have the benefit of unlimited window space and great amounts of information on all products, without the need for market prominence (Anderson, 2004, online). Understandably others, alike myself, that purchase these unusual products or “non-hit items” (Anderson, 2008, online) are classified as consumers from the long tail section of the consumer curve.
Furthermore, through existence of long tail markets, smaller niche markets are created with ‘virtual’ preferences being realised. This function, a particular favourite of my own, identifies products which were purchased by others who have also purchased identical items to your own. How else would I have located the Middle East’s latest music export – Little Egypt?
Interestingly, whilst I was unable to locate any alternative arguments to the long tail theory, my research illustrated that record companies have realised the validity of Anderson’s theory. According to Jack Schofield, IMG associate, record companies have realised that artists are now more able to target niche markets online and are therefore venturing out without representation (Eno, 2006, online). Time will tell if Anderson’s theory continues to exist in a time where technology is constantly changing.
Through researching this concept, I found that Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory best described this experience, illustrated as the web provides a medium with an ‘almost unlimited choice’ (Anderson, 2004, online). This theory identifies the differences between online and physical markets as varied focal points in the consumer demand curve (Anderson, 2004, online). Thereby in physical markets, the focus is on the high-volume end of the curve compared with online markets where the focus is on the ‘long tail’ of the curve (Anderson, 2004, online).
Anderson and other academics including US media scholar Jeffrey Ressner, claim that long tail markets are extremely common on the web (Ressner, 2006, online). This is illustrated through the existence of sites such as eBay and Amazon.com, both to which I am now an addict. Sites such as these are able to remain competitive and realise profit by selling smaller quantities of unusual products to many, compared with physical stores, which tend to sell large quantities of mainstream, popular items (Ressner, 2006, online). Furthermore, these virtual retailers have the benefit of unlimited window space and great amounts of information on all products, without the need for market prominence (Anderson, 2004, online). Understandably others, alike myself, that purchase these unusual products or “non-hit items” (Anderson, 2008, online) are classified as consumers from the long tail section of the consumer curve.
Furthermore, through existence of long tail markets, smaller niche markets are created with ‘virtual’ preferences being realised. This function, a particular favourite of my own, identifies products which were purchased by others who have also purchased identical items to your own. How else would I have located the Middle East’s latest music export – Little Egypt?
Interestingly, whilst I was unable to locate any alternative arguments to the long tail theory, my research illustrated that record companies have realised the validity of Anderson’s theory. According to Jack Schofield, IMG associate, record companies have realised that artists are now more able to target niche markets online and are therefore venturing out without representation (Eno, 2006, online). Time will tell if Anderson’s theory continues to exist in a time where technology is constantly changing.
Bibliography
Anderson, C. 2004. The Long Tail. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html (accessed April 29, 2008).
Eno, B. 2006. Just say no to record labels. http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/01/62050 (accessed April 26, 2008).
Ressner, J. 2006. Long Tail’s Tribe.
http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1198903,00.html (accessed April 28, 2008).
Anderson, C. 2004. The Long Tail. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html (accessed April 29, 2008).
Eno, B. 2006. Just say no to record labels. http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2004/01/62050 (accessed April 26, 2008).
Ressner, J. 2006. Long Tail’s Tribe.
http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1198903,00.html (accessed April 28, 2008).
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