Music itself hasn’t gone out of favor – just the opposite. There has never been a better time to be an artist or a fan, and there has never been more music made or listened to. But the traditional model of marketing and selling music no longer works. The big players in the distribution system – major record labels, retail giants – depend on huge, platinum hits. These days, though, there are not nearly enough of those to support the industry in the style to which it has become accustomed. We are witnessing the end of an era.
So says Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief at Wired Magazine and the man who coined the expression The Long Tail. Wired is currently running an adaptation of Anderson's new book "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More".
This is an important read for those who make and market music.