Long Tail

eMusic Says Sales Data Confirm "Long Tail" Theory

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 16, 2009 - 1:06pm.

New York - Digital music service eMusic said this week that internal data showing that 75% of the songs in its 5 million-track catalog were downloaded last year prove that the "long tail" theory of retail has merit, at least when it comes to its own service. A study in November from the MCPS-PRS U.K. licensing body concluded that the long tail theory was flawed, after finding that of the 13 million songs on the Internet, ten million had not sold a single copy.

tags: Music | eMusic | Retail | Long Tail |

Download Stats Question "Long Tail" Theory for Mobile Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 17, 2008 - 11:57am.

Los Angeles - The CEO of mobile music distributor 24/7 entertainment told attendees at the Popkomm conference this week that 66% of the 4.5 million songs it offers have never been downloaded by users -- countering the notion of a "long tail" theory for mobile music, Wired.com reported. The "long tail" theory asserts that, in addition to marketing blockbuster content to achieve mass sales, businesses can also flourish by selling a steady stream of more varied, less popular content.

tags: Mobile | Music | Long Tail | 27/7 Entertainment |

New Content or Repurposed Content? My Two Cents on The Long Tail Controversy

Authored by Jay Baage on February 1, 2007 - 12:56pm.

Two weeks ago I wrote an opinion piece arguing that “It’s Time for Les Moonves to Cut Off CBS' Long Tail”. Basically, my point was that the big television companies need to focus on creating original content for new media platforms, not just programming these new channels with whatever is left on the cutting-room floor. A few days after, Shelly Palmer, chairman of the national Advanced Media Technology Emmy Awards Committee, followed up with a detailed post on his blog that Chris Anderson’s Long Tail presentation at NATPE illustrated “a profound lack of understanding about television production, distribution and the advertising and subscription revenue that drive the business.” Chris Anderson then responded with a post on his blog and questioned how Palmer is defining “television” and other things. Anderson got backup from Cory Bergman at the interesting TV blog “Lost Remote” and Terry Heaton, Senior Vice President, Media 2.0, who both cried out: “Ground control to Shelly: Please return to planet Earth.”

Flight 82 to Midem: What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

Authored by Ned Sherman on January 19, 2007 - 1:19pm.

For the last four years, I have been among the 200 or so who take Delta's overnight Thursday flight (Flight 82) from JFK to Nice, often referred to as the "Midem Shuttle", to join the thousands of industry leaders from around the world at the Midem Music Conference & Market in Cannes. The passenger list for this 7 hour flight reads like a who's who list of music industry movers and shakers - top label execs mingling with artists, talent managers, the digirati and members of the press. The scene is almost surreal and time goes by like a college road trip with a constant flow of networking, drinking and bantering that you would expect at a Grammy's after party.

The Orchard Surpasses One Million Licensed Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 25, 2006 - 1:27pm.

New York - The Orchard, a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Tuesday that its catalog has now surpassed one million licensed tracks.