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)

Enlighting!

Great book ! Must read...

Nevertheless, it would help if Audible would process the audio file: the mastering is poor at the beginning. Should use a de-esser, an audio processor effect that removes the "S" consonant's higher frequency that makes for uncomfortable listening... at times it is almost unbearable...

Painfully Outdated

Any additional comments?

Though the subject matter is interesting, and the observations made insightful, the fact that the edition performed for Audible has not been updated since written in 2006 makes this audiobook almost unlistenable. Think about how much has changed regarding the internet since LAST YEAR, let alone almost a decade. Constant references are made to things like MySpace, Paris Hilton, Sidekick Phones and Yahoo Radio. I felt like I was reading a history textbook from the 1950's.

No mention of Twitter, no mention of Facebook, no mention of e-books, (though Borders is mentioned several times...) NO MENTION OF THE IPHONE SINCE IT HADN'T COME OUT YET. It's difficult to concentrate on something on a book that makes thrilling revelations like "Soon companies like Netflix may make thousands of titles from their DVD library available for immediate digital delivery".

I'm ever so slightly paraphrasing the sentence above, (I didn't have time to go back and transcribe the actual line) but I assure you it's pretty damned close to the literal line in the performance. Worth listening to, but just be aware that you're going to be doing a lot of groaning and eye-rolling if you haven't been living under a digital rock for the last 8 years or so.

Abridged would be better

The book is good, but after the points listed in the first hour or so you can extrapolate the rest. A bit dated now, but does a good job of putting the 21st century economy into a words. Listen at 1.25x.

A Great Listen!

Any additional comments?

I loved listening to The Long Tail. It was truly insightful and inspirational; Chris Anderson has shown us a brave new world of economics and business.

Solid book but requires a more timely update

this is actually a very good book. Even though it's quite dated, around 2005-2006, the concepts are quite Illuminating and are still valid 15 years later.

Its tenets and concepts have been proven out over the nearly decade-and-a-half since it was written. Substitute Facebook for MySpace and everything falls together. It's been so long since I heard the term "MySpace" that I nearly had to ask Alexa, "What is a MySpace?" A great book, very entertaining, that glides along very nicely.

Outstanding ideas in need of an editor

The ideas here are so important they really need to have a new edition.
Nothing better given, any person who is interested in understanding how the world is evolving today must read this.

However, this is so 2006. Where is Facebook, Twitter, AliExpress, Etsy, YouTube etc...? They did not exist yet.
It is highly concentrated on the music industry (and somewhat other media). This was not really the main scene in 2006, it is certainly not the main scene today.
It is highly repetitive. When you are fed-out with the repetition, just hear chapter 14, which is important, and finish with it. (There is also a short interview in the last chapter (15), which may be interesting).

Great book to understand Digital transformation

Would you listen to The Long Tail again? Why?

yes, so much insights to understand where we are and how much to do in Digital transformation space across many industries

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Long Tail?

understanding of the mechanics of the Long tail through music and book digital transformation,

Have you listened to any of Christopher Nissley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no 1st time

If you could give The Long Tail a new subtitle, what would it be?

The new power of the sliced world

Very interesting and pertinent even in 2018

Listening to this book in 2017/2018 was very interesting because the points the author makes about why the long tail (the internet as a cheap distribution channel and consumers niche tastes) is changing the world are still extremely relevant. In fact, most of the companies he uses as examples (Google, Amazon, Netflix), even some in their infancy at the time of publishing (like YouTube) have continued to drive this dramatic change, allowing them to grow into some of the biggest and most influential companies today.

Still applies

Much of what is covered by Chris Anderson still applies today. He missed the mark on one of the negative consequences of the long tail. What we now call fake news is ubiquitous. His belief that people are curious and will seek the truth has been proven wrong. We all like ideas that confirm what we already believe and don’t challenge information that supports our beliefs.

Should Be Called "The Internet Changed Things"

This book feels like it was written for old baby boomers, people who buy domain names from GoDaddy using Dell computers running McAfee--with an expired subscription. There is no information here that is not totally obvious to anyone who has payed any attention in the past decade; the author talks about the Internet as if it is this brand new thing you've never hear of before. I can imagine that the book could have been better, but the tone and style of the narrator made this extremely irritating. Even the most basic, obvious statements spoken are stressed as if they are deep insights.

Whenever I listen to an audiobook I keep a pad and pen next to me so I can write down any insights or quotes I want to remember. This is the first time I haven't had a single thing to write down. It's also pretty long at 8 hours.

The title of this book and the explanation of the term in the first few minutes is the best part of the book, the rest should be called "The Internet Changed Things". Granted, the book is already several years old, but even in 2006 I think The Long Tail would have been old news.