Product Description

What happens when the bottlenecks that stand between supply and demand in our culture go away and everything becomes available to everyone?

"The Long Tail" is a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of the niche. As the cost of reaching consumers drops dramatically, our markets are shifting from a one-size-fits-all model of mass appeal to one of unlimited variety for unique tastes. From supermarket shelves to advertising agencies, the ability to offer vast choice is changing everything, and causing us to rethink where our markets lie and how to get to them. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it, from DVDs at Netflix to songs on iTunes to advertising on Google.

However, this is not just a virtue of online marketplaces; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for business, one that is just beginning to show its power. After a century of obsessing over the few products at the head of the demand curve, the new economics of distribution allow us to turn our focus to the many more products in the tail, which collectively can create a new market as big as the one we already know.

The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of what’s commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5769 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-11
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Wired editor Anderson declares the death of "common culture"—and insists that it's for the best. Why don't we all watch the same TV shows, like we used to? Because not long ago, "we had fewer alternatives to compete for our screen attention," he writes. Smash hits have existed largely because of scarcity: with a finite number of bookstore shelves and theaters and Wal-Mart CD racks, "it's only sensible to fill them with the titles that will sell best." Today, Web sites and online retailers offer seemingly infinite inventory, and the result is the "shattering of the mainstream into a zillion different cultural shards." These "countless niches" are market opportunities for those who cast a wide net and de-emphasize the search for blockbusters. It's a provocative analysis and almost certainly on target—though Anderson's assurances that these principles are equally applicable outside the media and entertainment industries are not entirely convincing. The book overuses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay, and it doesn't help that most of the charts of "Long Tail" curves look the same. But Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. The long-tail phenomenon, he argues, will "re-shape our understanding of what people actually want to watch" (or read, etc.). While Anderson presents a fascinating idea backed by thoughtful (if repetitive) analysis, many critics questioned just how greatly the niche market will rework our common popular culture. Anderson convinced most reviewers in his discussion of Internet media sales, but his KitchenAid and Lego examples fell flat. A few pointed out that online markets constitute just 10 percent of U.S. retail, and brick-and-mortar stores will never disappear. Anderson's thesis came under a separate attack by Lee Gomes in his Wall Street Journal column. Anderson had defined the "98 Percent Rule" in his book to mean that no matter how much inventory is made available online, 98 percent of the items will sell at least once. Yet Gomes cited statistics that could indicate that, as the Web and Web services become more mainstream, the 98 Percent Rule may no longer apply: "Ecast [a music-streaming company] told me that now, with a much bigger inventory than when Mr. Anderson spoke to them two years ago, the quarterly no-play rate has risen from 2% to 12%. March data for the 1.1 million songs of Rhapsody, another streamer, shows a 22% no-play rate; another 19% got just one or two plays." If Anderson overreaches in his thesis, he has nonetheless written "one of those business books that, ironically, deserves more than a niche readership" (Houston Chronicle).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From AudioFile
Anderson's premise that Internet-based retailing and personal expression enable much wider variety and more profitable niche markets and, thus, are killing a formerly "hit-driven" culture and retail world is somewhat controversial. (Just Google THE LONG TAIL.) But this audiobook presents the argument well, with much detail and many current (late 2005) examples. Christopher Nissley's reading style fits the content; he's clipped and staccato, like Anderson's writing. His narration is helpful to the listener who prefers not to get bogged down in the theoretical and technical parts of the book. Anderson himself reads the introduction, and there's a brief author interview at the end of Disc 7, plus downloadable copies of the book's graphics. T.F. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

The Long Tail - Economics of Abundance
The digital age has thrown a curve ball at traditional economic theory. Disrupting the institutionalized notion that economics is about choice under scarcity, the Internet has introduced economists to a world of abundance.

Chris Anderson's book The Long Tail examines the non-traditional markets that emerge when people are faced with abundance and infinite selection. This model allows the public to deviate from the accepted norm of being fed "hits" that are corporately designed for mass-appeal. Anderson's Long Tail theory proves that by opening the door for consumers to access niche choices and tools of creation, the Internet has unveiled a means of "turning unprofitable customers, products, and markets into profitable ones" (p. 11). The Long Tail refers to the market share that is made attainable by the Internet's introduction of "abundant shelf space, abundant distribution, and abundant choice" (p. 143).

In The Long Tail, Anderson effectively presents engaging ideas that are muted only by the book's sometimes-scattered structure. Anderson uses real-world examples to make his points, leads readers to evaluate their own consumer habits, and upholds the context that the Long Tail is part of a bigger picture. At times Anderson is redundant, and the book lacks the guidance of a defined genre, but compared to The Long Tail's strong overall message, the points of contention are minimal.

Using real-world examples, Anderson effectively teaches readers how the digital age is empowering formerly complaisant consumers to control what is popular. Anderson gives examples of musicians who made it big without record label support and were able to "record and distribute their music themselves and keep their creative independence" (p. 106) and actors who developed enormous fan bases and reached stardom by posting their skits online. By citing such examples, Anderson illustrates to readers that aspiring artists no longer need to wait for a big break from entertainment industry executives; "technology has shifted the balance of power from label to band" (p. 106). Anderson also uses a real-world example to show readers that when a company broadens its selection of items it will learn from the customer what is popular: "Until KitchenAid had an online channel that allowed customers to pick from its full range of products, it had no way of knowing that there was latent consumer demand [for orange mixers] that it hadn't previously tapped" (p. 205).

The author's real-world proof that consumers can influence industries leads readers to evaluate their own position in corporate-to-consumer relationships. The Long Tail model causes readers to think twice about supporting broad-appeal-based businesses that offer limited selections. Readers may ask: Why should I settle for mainstream when I can get just what I want elsewhere? Both consumers and producers can leverage the Long Tail of niche markets to their own advantage. Anderson notes that while abundance of selection grants consumers the power of choice, businesses are reaping the revenue benefits of the Tail: "the numbers are so large that you can lop off a large chunk (the hits) and it's still a huge market" (p. 215).

Anderson does a good job of reminding the reader of the context from which the Long Tail should be viewed; it is one splice of a larger market. He appropriately notes that while there is a significant subculture market to be captured in the Long Tail, the head of hits should not be disregarded. It is hard to side with writers such as Anita Elberse of the Harvard Business Review who seem to misconstrue the Long Tail concept as promoting tail-only business; Anderson explicitly states that "successful Long Tail aggregators need to have both hits and niches" (p. 148). He cites the importance of both ends, using Google as an example: "most of its revenues come from the head of the curve, [but] most of its customers are somewhere in the tail, which suggests that this is where much of its growth will come in the future" (p. 215).

While the educational and thought-provoking merits of The Long Tail are significant, Anderson nonetheless introduces two challenges to his readers. The first challenge lies in the mid-section of the book, wherein Anderson is unnecessarily redundant and risks losing the reader's attention. Page 146 would make an excellent last page, as it nicely summarizes and connects what has been read. Although there is some good content interspersed in the redundancy, Chapter 9 (page 147) would make a nice start for The Long Tail: Part Two, as it restates what was in Part I. Page 155 revisits big box retailers, page 164 tells the reader again that there are limitations in airwaves, and goes on to recount what makes a hit. Ironically, in his WIRED Magazine article, "Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business," Anderson states that in a world of abundance attention is the new scarcity to be vied for. A more concise, well-organized edition of the book would be more apt to engage the scarcity of attention.

The second challenge is that the book lacks a genre. Anderson admits "I tremble to think where the Dewey Decimal System will place the book you're reading now. Technology? Economics? Business? Culture? None of them are quite right by themselves" (p. 161). For the reader, not knowing what The Long Tail was written for hinders enjoyment and slows the reading process. It is challenging to decipher if the book is meant to be read as a textbook from which statistics ought to be memorized, or as a breezy read that offers ideas that will be fun to share at cocktail parties. Anderson finds single-genre classifications to be limiting, since "one thing can be many different things to many different people" (p. 161). However, he overlooks that a genre can be of more use than just determining where to physically or digitally store/categorize the book. Genres can also provide readers a useful context from which to read. The burden of figuring out the genre of The Long Tail is a hurdle for the reader.

As Professor Kathy Gill of the University of Washington notes, this is the "Wild West" of the digital age. In this Wild West, Anderson pulls together the elements and implications of a previously unattainable Long Tail market to bring meaning to this burgeoning area that is still being defined. Despite a few points of contention, The Long Tail does an excellent job of introducing and addressing today's changing economy and leads readers to evaluate the economic role they play.

Like "The Tipping Point" -- A Gimmicky Concept
A writer who I follow avidly is the New Yorker's Malcolm Gladwell, who for a decade now has successfully analyzed and explained the bleeding obvious. But he does so in a fluid and entertaining manner, which is what mostly accounts for his success.

A few years ago Mr. Gladwell wrote a book called "The Tipping Point," which went on to become a publishing phenomenon. In it he explained how certain products become phenomena. First, someone creates the product or comes up with the idea. Second, someone packages it properly so that it's something that resonates with people. Third, someone discovers it and enthusiastically promotes it until its sales or notoriety reaches "a tipping point," and once it crosses this threshold the idea or product becomes a cultural phenomenon.

A lot of readers enjoyed the book and found it "empowering" because they fundamentally misunderstood it. For them it meant that if they worked hard enough and had the proper skill-set they could sell their products and be successful. But "The Tipping Point" showed how important chance and randomness were in products and ideas becoming successful and mainstream -- different people working at different times re-working and re-marketing an idea or a product before the product obtains that magical combination of utility, relevance, and buzz. It's a very much organic, natural, and social process -- where no one or no group is completely in control.

In that way Malcolm Gladwell's contribution was not coming up with a new idea but in framing a well-known cultural phenomenon.

Likewise with Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail." Instead of telling us anything new he's helping us frame our understanding of the Internet and digital age.

We know the Internet is a revolutionary tool that has empowered consumers with more choice and information than ever before, has made the production and distribution of products cheaper than before, and is radically challenging the dominance of traditional media and bricks-and-mortars retailers. We know that Internet retailers -- such as Amazon, Ebay, and Google -- have different revenue and business models than Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble. The Internet has also fundamentally changed consumer behavior: instead of waiting for prime time consumers now watch want they want to watch when they want to watch it. What Chris Anderson has done is frame all this in a concept called "The Long Tail."

What "The Long Tail" means is that given the diversity of individual tastes the number of movies and books that consumers could potentially want to buy is almost infinite. Unfortunately the resources of traditional retailers like Walmart is very finite -- because of limited shelf space Walmart has to choose books and DVDs that have the most consumer appeal. But web-based retailers like Amazon have infinite shelf space so they can offer consumers more choice, and consumers embrace choice.

That in a nutshell is what the "The Long Tail" is about, and to justify turning his magazine article of the same name into a book Chris Anderson offers lots of examples and cases studies of "The Long Tail" in action but mainly just waxes eloquent on how the Internet has empowered people: Thanks to the miracle of cheap digital technology young kids who don't want to work but just want to be famous can make their own movies, and make their friends and parents buy it over the Internet.

Too much boasting and boosting and not enough analyzing and criticizing is yet another similarity between "The Long Tail" and "The Tipping Point." Both are also magazine articles that have been for marketing purposes turned into books.

Ultimately, both books sell a gimmicky concept that doesn't really enhance our understanding of the world.

Scintilating, brilliant. The new age explained
Anderson's TV appearance on Charlie Rose induced me to read his Wired column which interested me in his book; all part of the long tail of information and connectivity in this new Internet age. Mixing an equal blend of statistics, charts and commentary, Anderson uses Amazon, eBay, Craigslist, Netflix and other new age entities in describing the revolution in the buyers' entertainment options and our thirst for choice. The ancien regime of filtering news, opinion, entertainment, consumer buying choices is dead, according to Anderson. As revealing as "The World is Flat" by Tom Friedman, this book describes like no other the new age of niche selection, user choice and the shifted sands of our preferences as a plugged in society.