The Longtail Theory by: Kip Batiz

The Longtail Theory by: Kip Batiz The longtail theory has only been relevant in recent times with the advent of digital marketing and storage. Basically the idea behind it is that people will continuously be able to purchase your product because there is no limit on digital storage for your music and movies. As long as you are able to advertise and market your products, in theory your previous album releases have the potential to create more revenue than your newly released albums and merch. As an example if you have 3 currently released albums at a 'discounted' price point ($7), and you are marketing a new album through the same release channels (ie.. itunes, napster, etc...) for a new release price ($15), the sales potential for your 'older' music becomes $21. It used to be that a record company would hire an album promoter or distributor to insure shelf space at your local or regional music stores. Convincing them that the product would surly move off the shelf and make money. That warehousing space is extremely valuable to stores like these because something that sits on a shelf for years takes up space that could be used for other 'hotter' ticket items. But now direct marketing and digital storage can skyrocket your sales cutting out countless middlemen in the process and maximizing your profit levels. As labels cling to their dwindling profits most high level artists with built in audiences are using their direct connections to their fans to drop remixes, special releases, and even new album and tour information. What a time to be an artist... -KB