The Long-Tail, not to be short lived!

Do you like the hits? Do they dominate your playlist? Is the latest hit the only thing you care about? If you answered yes to all of the above then read no further, but you may be disappointed if you chose to stop now.
I am willing to bet that there is at least one song in your collection that falls outside the mainstream. Am I correct? Then if so read on and I shall explain the future of marketing, advertising and retail that is bound to get your attention.

Just this week I purchased a DVD that I had never heard of, and probably never would have, had it not been for a recommendation. But this recommendation came not from a friend, instead Amazon.com informed me that "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought". Intrigued I clicked and read on. Low-and-behold my vast DVD viewing experience horizons have broadened, and this is only because Amazon.com allowed me to dig through the bargain bin of hits, to reach the bottom of the pile. There are countless other ways that the "long-tail" operates.

So what explains this process?
It is the futuristic concept of a "long-tail" which exists within almost all products of popular culture and consumption. In basic form, the "long-tail" comprises of the misses which never got recognised by the masses. The never reached No.1 status and as such were overlooked and under supplied, but does this make them any less consumable, or of lesser quality or worthiness? No, it most certainly does not. The lack of recognition is merely a loss to the mass market, but the niche market opens up an entirely new realm to deal with. Chris Anderson has been a pioneer in the exploration of the 'Long-Tail'.

According to Anderson, the hit driven market requires shelf space and market prominence. So, it is perhaps the internet which allows the "long-tail" to operate at its most effective. Without the need for shelf space, maintenance, sales promotion and lacking in actual physicality; digital commerce expands our choices immensely. The internet has a capability that is only dreamt about within the physical realm. The vast collating and databasing capacities of the internet links everything. So now you or I can say "I like this, this and this", the data is collated and virtual 'tastes' are created. People can now be informed of what others who liked this product, also liked. So the virtual world is limitless, or at least in conceivable terms. There is a plethora of content on the internet, essentially a click away, and if the right mechanism directs us down the correct path, we find the products we probably weren't looking for but we want, or at least are interested in. We find our own niche.

So back to my original example on the music community. The masses are not to be the dictators any more, the eclectic and non-average consumer is king. The demand for the obscure has always been there, but only now do we have a platform to service that demand. Whilst the bricks-and-mortar retailers deal with the masses, the "long-tail" handles the rest, and the rest is a big market, whilst sales volumes may not be high for each item individually, on aggregate the misses match and sometimes even outsell the hits. Does this make them Number 1? Quite possibly.