The Long Tail

Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More

By: Chris Anderson

Narrated by: Christopher Nissley

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Our world is being transformed by the Internet and the near limitless choice that it provides to consumers; tomorrow's markets belong to those who can take advantage of this. The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance, an entirely new model for business that is just starting to show its power as unlimited selection reveals new truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it. The record business has been transformed by iTunes and Rhapsody; a similar transformation is coming to just about every industry imaginable.

What happens when everything in the world becomes available to everyone? When the combined value of all the millions of items that may sell only a few copies equals or exceeds the value of the few items that sell millions each? When a bunch of kids with no profit motive can record a song or make a video and get the same electronic distribution for it as the most powerful corporation?

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, first explored "The Long Tail" in an article that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Using the worlds of movies, books, and music, he showed how the Internet has made possible a new world in which the combined value of modest sellers and quirky titles equals the sales of the top hits. He coined the term "The Long Tail" to describe this phenomenon, a phrase that's since appeared in boardrooms and media around the world.

"In short, though we still obsess over hits," Anderson writes, "they are not quite the economic force they once were. Where are those fickle consumers going instead? No single place. They are scattered to the winds as markets fragment into a thousand niches."

©2006 Chris Anderson. All rights reserved (P)2006 Hyperion. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

• Winner of Audio Publishers Association 2007 Audie Award, Business Information/Education

"Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about." (Publishers Weekly)
"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." (AudioFile)

simply excellent.

fascinating book. working for a company that has integrated 80/20 into every aspect of it's fiber, it's interesting to explore the world beyond the power curve.

Must read! The future of retail!

I am absolutely impressed by Chris genius point of view of the future of retailing. The book is nicely structured; the author provides different applications of the theory, which bridged theory and reality.

One Simple But Powerful Point

There is one simple but powerful point to this book. The long tail of products, in a statistical distribution, can equal or exceed the area under the curve. This means companies with very low holding and distribution costs, say for example Apple's iTunes, make as much money from the group of out of circulation songs, as they do in selling hits. The 'hits' model is historically all companies could focus on given physical carrying costs. This change vastly expanded the market for niche products, opened up new distribution models (Amazon, eBay, NetFlix, etc.) and changed consumer behavior and demand.

Prepares You For Future Opportunities

The Long Tail is a great commentary on digital tachnology's impact on economics, business and culture. As a business owner it helped wrap my busienss development ideas around new economic realities.

great

A bit long at first but overall a great listen...I would recommend

Every person in business ought to hear this

I thought I knew a lot about "the long tail". My horizont just got mindblowingly wider. Makes you look at business in a totally new way - even if you are in the offline world.

Worth the Read

I have been out of the USA for over five years and am now trying to "catch up" on all American business/industry related reading. I found this book one of the best broad-scope, mainstream reads so far. I may or may not agree with the author, but I enjoyed hearing what he he had to say and learned a great deal. Well worth the read.

A Good Read

The book was good but it felt kind of repetitive and alone things could have been left out.

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

So much of the world has gone long tail, but in my opinion, not enough of it. Because shelf space is always finite, there's a limit to what I can get a my local brick and mortar store. For example, yesterday, my husband and I wanted something to float on to go to Guadalupe River State Park in Texas. First, we looked on the Internet and we saw a lot of options, including a two-person river tube set, connected with a cool chest between the two seats.

However, we wanted something to use immediately as we were on our way to the park 45 minutes from our house, so we dropped by the local Walmart. They didn't have exactly what we were looking for. We settled for an inflatable raft, which served the purpose of letting us both lounge together while floating down the slow moving river.
I LOVE the fact that most distributors have gone to the long tail business model adding a range of distinct items to their online sales options. I can understand why everything isn't available in my local store, but I like having the option to buy it -- when I REALLY want it-- from online where shelf space isn't a factor and, in some cases, where the distributor doesn't even have it on the shelf, or better -- Print on Demand books, T-shirts, etc., where it doesn't even exist until I order it.
The world is changing in great ways. Now, if DVD sellers, poster sellers and others could just get on the bandwagon. I want to be able to order a movie with the exact subtitles and alternative dubbed languages that I want. Or even the exact set of special additional items I want. Like ala carte movie buying.

Very good, but needs an update

A very interesting audiobook with just one flaw - because it largely draws upon technology and related businesses for its subject matter, it is already slightly dated. This is one of those books that would benefit from an update, not because anything in it is necessarily wrong, but because things in this sphere just move so quickly. For example, MySpace, which is mentioned excitedly in the book, is now a dying website...