The Long Tail: The dangers of "Headism"

The Long Tail: The dangers of "Headism": "I've been riffing on the dangers of 'headism', the mistake of assuming that the economic incentives and other forces that dominate at the head of a demand curve apply equally down the tail. This is a common misconception, much like when people ask bloggers how they intend to make money from their online noodling (other than, you know, turning it into a sure-to-be bestselling book coming out RSN).

For too long we've viewed the economics of the entertainment industry through the lens of hits and stars, studios and networks. Just as we are recognizing that the Long Tail is a huge and growing market that was hidden by the scarcity economics of the old distribution systems, we're starting to realize the nature of the goods, the participants and the incentives in this new market are also different. Here are a few examples:

Products

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