Money making is what it is all about in the entertainment industry, and up until a little after the turn of the millennium, hits were the biggest way to do that. The industry had finally figured out the formula to get everyone to buy what they wanted them to buy. With the expansion of media outlets that were being created online though, the leaders of this industry could not focus on just the central outlets anymore, such as CD’s and merchandise sold in stores. Now not only were products being sold online through outlets like ITunes and Amazon, but even more music and movies were being obtained and shared illegally through programs like Limewire and many other websites. The very last hit record sold was N’SYNC’s No Strings Attached. It is still today the world’s fasting selling album. It sold 2.4 million copies in the first week and 1.1 million on the first day alone, which is another record. It is the epitome of the top end of the long tail. Record sales have been slowly sinking since the release of No Strings Attached. Amazon, Spotify, and Netflix are so popular and so successful because they do not only sell the hits, but they also sell everything that is in the long tail. All the less popular item sales typically make up 25% of total sales for companies like these. This leaves places like Wal-Mart, who only sell the hits, 25% short.
Sales of full albums have, indeed, been in decline, but sales of individual tracks are doing well – so maybe that just means the record industry should focus their attention elsewhere. Also, here’s a fun fact – the record industry makes billions of dollars every year on the sale of….ringtones! Here’s a product that didn’t even exist 15 years ago, and now they are making tons of money. But they never mention ringtone sales when they talk about how the business is doing. So new technology also offers opportunities for new markets.
Moreover illegal filesharing networks can also create interest in certain niche songs. Before purchasing a song or maybe even an artist‘s whole album on iTunes you think long and hard about buying it – and if you do not like the song afterwards, you will be even more careful before buying another one the next time. But if you download your songs for “free“ on illegal filesharing networks you just click on the download button again and again. If you do not like the song – who cares? Just give another song a try. But if you actually like the song or the artist or maybe even the whole kind of music, you might purchase it on iTunes or Amazon to get it in good quality and with a nice album cover being displayed on your smartphone, iPad or PC. In this manner you could actually enforce the long tail after having “stolen“ from the music industry in the first place.
Sales have declined. I never new the statistics on that but music sales have decline comparing to N’sync. Now, they are artist that are now barely hitting the million mark. I think Lil’Wayne is second selling a million copies his first week
There are also certain movie sites where you can stream movies and television shows for free (but it is obviously illegal). There is a huge variety to choose from, which I think can open a person up to more niche categories. However, I will say that these movie sites feature movies that are currently released in theaters or on television. Basically, you could watch The Dark Knight Rises the day after it was released in theaters or watch The Walking Dead right after it premieres on AMC. Therefore, I do not think that is as effective as Netflix when it comes to opening people up to niche movies or television shows, but I am sure a lot of people out there do explore film when using sites like these. I will say one thing though, I don’t think people are willing to purchase a movie like they are willing to purchase a single song or album on iTunes. iTunes uses micro-payments as a way to get people to buy. Movies and television shows are not yet at that low of a rate, and I do not think that people consume movies the same way as music. With music, you can listen to something over and over again, but really, how many times can you possibly watch one, single movie. In this case, I do not necessarily think this enforces the long tail in regards to the new economics, but the idea of abundance definitely comes into play.
I agree, but making a hit song is easier to sell and promote because if a person just like that song then they can purchase that song without buying the album. Which back in the day you may have to purchase the album. That’s how most of these musicians don’t make it because they will make a hit and that would be it.