The Long Tail and Wikinomics

The Long Tail theory developed by Chris Anderson in 2006 is interesting to discuss in the light of changes in 2015.  What we thought would happen with the internet and business models has not necessarily followed expectations. Big corporations still hold a  lot of power and are still making a lot of money. Despite fears of economic Armageddon many have retained this control in the wild west of the internet and some such as APPLE have made huge profits and dominated emerging markets.

The Long Tail theory would suggest that the old models of distribution and consumption are changing so that rather than being force fed media products by a narrow elite of corporations who dictate our tastes and preferences, the internet will democratize production of media texts and their consumption by audiences. This is because producers will find it easier to reach an audience and cheaper and more accessible technology will allow more people to create a wider range of media texts.  Rather than listening to a narrow range of pop hits promoted by record companies such as Sony Music or watching an endless slew of Hollywood action films featuring heroes such as Tom Cruise and Schwarzenegger we will be able to find ‘niche’ products which appeal to wider and more varied tastes.

The internet is supposed to have democratized production of media and allowed for a wider variety of texts to be consumed.

Different economic models are supposed to have emerged challenging the old vertical model where an artist signed a contract with a studio or a record company and in return had their music promoted and distributed. We used the example of Micheal Jackson whose 1982 Thriller album is the best selling album of all time.  Epic records is part of Sony Music. Record companies would offer promising artists a contract and in return they would use their established contacts and resources to market and distribute their music to a wide audience.  By making and distributing the products such as CD's or vinyl to shops and then using the wider established media to promote the brand this proved to be a symbiotic relationship benefiting each partner.  Warner Music could allow Madonna to be creative and then they would sell the records, books, concerts, merchandise, films, music videos and any other assorted elements of the franchise through various wings of its multi-media global conglomerate that was ‘Time Warner AOL’ at this point. The name itself shows the need for these companies to move with the times regarding technological advance. The challenge these media giants faced was how to cope with the advance of the internet where it looked like everything would be available for free. Somehow the long tail has not been entirely successful in changing the economic model as these companies are still hugely successful and audiences are still paying for products even if they don’t  physically exist such as a digital download. 

Radio and television were influential in the old model. Top of the Pops was an institution  along with the influential top 40 and the Billboard chart in the US.  Music has moved online rather than consumers purchasing physical items and the choice is now huge in terms of radio stations catering for every niche taste.  However, with more choice does the consumer crave less choice due to human nature, falling back on the familiar and less challenging ? 

Is the audience too afraid of this bright new dawn or not as skilled in manipulating the internet as we like to think?

Have these companies found ways to censor or stop sharing of copyrighted material such as ITUNES? 

When confronted with a vast choice do we fall back on the familiar or is it a generational thing that young digital natives have no issue with?

We then looked at a relatively new artist Hozier.  He appears to be a breakthrough artist whose catchy song, ‘Take me to Church’ has propelled him to global success. We looked at the music video for this song that deals with persecution of homosexuality in Russia. We felt that some of the symbols and messages in the video were clichéd and hackneyed in terms of their predictability and the graphic representation of homosexuality was no longer shocking although the issues remain relevant.  We felt he had relevant things to say about the Catholic church which have resonance in Ireland and this take on religion may be controversial in America where his marketing suggest he wants to have an impact.  Whilst the video looked as if it could have been shot by a sixth form student this may have been part of the idea in that production values are still raw suggesting that this artist is doing it all himself and using the power of the internet and social media to enure the song is shared widely. It is through word of mouth that the song gains wider recognition and sharing of the video and streaming allows it to gather momentum so that it increasingly saturates more traditional media such as radio airplay and Music television.  The internet allows a relatively unknown Irish artist to gain international, notably American, exposure and find a wide audience in a short period of time without an overt promotional campaign. The strength of the song is the key to the success of the artist which suggests a more pure from of creativity in that audiences are not being subjected to the preferred content promoted by record companies but the best music rises to the top dependent on its merit.

How much this is true is for you to decide. A cynical view would be that once ‘discovered’ an artist is subjected to the same process that has been the bedrock of the music industry for years and the old economic model. The next ‘new’ thing is packaged and branded to an ever hungry audience always on the look out for new talent. Maybe this is a sociological need to gratify.  To be seen as the first to recognise talent, maybe the first to see them live.  An Irish musician, playing American blues goes viral on you-tube with an incredibly catchy and memorable tune; he plays carefully selected US TV shows like Ellen and Letterman and these elements lead to sellout US tours .   He is signed to Columbia records which is a subsidiary of Sony Music, part of Sony Corpoartion. 

Maybe that the route to success is more accessible for the right artist.  If an artist can use the long tail effectively to pick up a niche audience through viral marketing, such as you-tube, of their hits this could be the quick route to riches and success.  Getting picked up by a record company is still key to global success though suggesting that the old models are still extant. One Direction are a good example of how an old fashioned model like a boy band is still more successful than ever due to new media technologies allowing users to share and interact making the whole experience more involving.  The record companies still manufacture artists and are quick to recognise and sign up new talent as it emerges so the old model is still dominant.  Vested interest and years of contacts and a wealth of resources are hard to over-turn.

We then looked at Ed Sheeran to see how, through the sheer force of will , an artist can use Web 2.0 to become a global star despite the lack of looking like a pop star.

Here he is covering Hozier's hit, perhaps not his best idea showing how difficult the song is to cover.

We looked at the way he was branded when he began

and the way he has been branded for a global audience

We researched his history and made a timeline.

The task was to work in pairs and role play;

Imagine you are Ed Sheeran and apply the Wikinomics theory to his work.

How do you feel about;

Peer Sharing

How has the sharing of material on the internet helped or hindered you?

Free Creativity

Do you encourage the internet age of and do you feel your intellectual property is protected

We Media

Has the internet made the music industry more democratic

Thinking globally

Some say the internet is the world’s biggest coffeehouse how has Thinking Globally helped you?

Perfect storm

How have you benefited from the perfect storm of new technology, the internet, young ‘digital natives,’ and the global knowledge and creative economy.

How does mass collaboration change everything?

Here is an example of our own brave young pioneer and digital native Ed Speerman



Click here to see Ed Speerman discuss the questions above