Gladwell, Malcolm. "The Tipping Point." 2000: Little Brown & Co.

Like Chris Anderson's Long Tail, Malcolm Gladwell's concept of a sociological "tipping point" is a useful term in any discussion about marketing on the internet. "The Tipping Point" is a sociological analysis of different types of key consumers: connectors, mavens, and salesmen. Gladwell uses these terms and other definitions of "tipping" and "stickiness" to explain instances of small ideas or materials becomining unexpectedly popular as they reach a "tipping point."

Though Gladwell does not remark explictly on the internet, I believe that his concepts are crucial to the way that the internet spreads information about musicians. Much of my discussion on online marketing and non-industry-regulated profitability is tempered by the understanding of internet marketing efforts as definitionally "grassroots." "The Tipping Point" is an analysis of grassroots marketing efforts, and my hope is that when Gladwell's concepts are lent to examinations of popularity and profitability of independent musicians on the internet, useful trends will be derived. For example, why would Radiohead benefit from a pay-what-you-want model, while an indpendent artist might not? And if an independent artist like Girl Talk does reach a "tipping point" via internet exposure, the ways in which they expand on these internet "grassroots" methods are major contributing factors to success. Gladwell's discussion offers some terminology to explain why.

Dubner, Stephen J. "What's the Future of the Music Industry? A Freakonomics Quorum." Freakonomics Blog, New York Times. 20 September 2007. <http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/whats-the-future-of-the-music-industry-a-freakonomics-quorum/>

This 2007 New York Times blog compiles the opinions of five different experts on the music industry. They are asked to reflect on the "future" of music in the context of the digital revolution. One expert is the author of the previously-referenced "Effects of File-Sharing on Record Sales," three are major music executives, and another is the founder of Engadget and a free, online-only music label. Essentially, they all offer disparate perspectives regarding the way in whcih music consumption is changing.

In a paper meant to argue a particular position about the success of new online music distribution methods, any novice or statistical opinion must be tempered by that of the experts. This New York Times column is a unique and valuable compilation of 5 different expert opinions. Largely, everyone seems to agree that the music industry is undergoing substantial change and that the labels must be open to reinvention. One suggestion undrestood by the labels in 2007, it seems, are advertising-supported models. Most interestingly, in their opinions these experts define exactly why the internet has changed the demand for music so thoroughly: it has affected scarcity. This is a crucial basis of understanding for any marketing or revenue model that follows.

ComScore. “Press Release: For Radiohead Fans, Does “Free” + “Download” = “Freeload”?” 5 November 2007.

This press release details a study of the online sales of Radiohead's "In Rainbows," an album the band released via a pay-what-you-want download model. The statistics obtained demonstrate clearly the presence of a "freeloader market," in which 60-62% of people will download an album for free when confronted with a pay-what-you-want option. The article offers a few different perspectives. Some experts are impressed that 40% of consumers are willing to pay "real money" for something they could get for free. Others question whether this model could be viable for less-established artists. Edward Hunter, a comScore analyst, states that this unique effort is important in that it eliminated a loss of profits due to illegal downloading.

Though these statistics are important, they are more interesting when confronted with data from (countless) other sources, which report that Radiohead's experiment was a likely success. Many different sources report that the profits made by Radiohead on In Rainbows were comparable to what they would have made under normal record-company distribution. Though those opinions and statistics can be found readily, the data regarding freeloaders is more unique to this article, which seems to expose the downside of pay-what-you-want models.

Anderson, Nate. "Free Nine Inch Nails album tops 2008 Amazon MP3 Sales Charts." Ars Technica. 6 January 2009.

This article summarizes experiemental distribution of Nine Inch Nails's new album and the effects the new online distribution model had on sales. Nine Inch Nails released the album Ghosts I-IV under a Creative Commons license, which allows legal free sharing and remixing. Despite this, the album garnered huge profits; both via digital download on Amazon.com, and perhaps more significantly in limited edition "extras" sets. The Ars Techinca article goes on to pose two questions to Fred Beneson of Creative Commons: Why would fans buy the album when it could be had for free, and would Creative Commons Lisencing work for record labels? Bereson addresses these questions speculatively, with optimism as well as some analysis of the factors necessary for the success achieved by NIN.

This is a major success story for Creative Commons, and an example of a profit-making model that still offers free download and distribution of music. The profits of Ghosts I-IV speak to the appeal for a product that is not available for free download (extras, convenience, or the authenticity of supporting an artist directly). Understanding the presence of this demand is necessary for understanding the way people want to consume music in the digital age. Profits can be achieved via different music products and services.

Barboza, David. "Google and Music Labels bet on Downloads in China." The New York Times. 5 April 2009.

This article addresses one of the most recent experiments in new profit models based on digital music: Google's free music search engine in China. Very recently, several of the biggest international record labels partnered with Google and a Chinese company (top100.com) to offer a free music-download service. Because online piracy of music is particularly rampant in China, the success of this model could have lasting implications on policies in the US. The New York Times article offers both critical and supportive opinions on the initiative. Notably, Google will have to struggle to contain the music-downloading to China, employing "legal and technical hurdles."

The partnership of Google with major international music labels represents a new way for record companies to remain profitable without trying to stop free music downloads. This unlimited-download service is supported not through subscription, but by advertisements. Although it is difficult to anticipate the success of such a model, the adoption of this idea certainly reflects a major change in the way that the entertainment industry is approaching its consumers. The willingness of labels (even on this controlled scale) to abandon control over music distribution to this degree is a symptom of their desperation, certainly. However, it is likely also a necessary move towards a new kind of support for music development.

Accenture Media and Entertainment. "The Challenge of Change: Perspectives on the future for Content Providers." Accenture Global Content Study 2008. Accenture: 2008.

This report is the result of a market research firm initiative, in which they surveyed 100 entertainment executives to determine their opinions on the future of revenue models based on digital media. The results of the survey show that the ad-based model is the most popular model for the surveyed executives, as opposed to subscription or iTunes-like services. Though the focus in the report seems to be on forms of entertainment other than music media, it provides a successful context for profit-garnering models in digital entertainment. It also reflects the point of view of those that will ultimately be responsible for shaping the way that media is transferred to the consumer (legally) online.

This report represents yet another perspective on successful provision of internet content (without greater legislation). The importance of advertising on maintaining free content on the internet cannot be understated -- many argue that advertising-based models represent the future of music revenue. Ad-based music models are already being put into place: the music-search engine developed by Google in China, for example. The Accenture report is important, therefore, because it provides data and quotes from industry experts that address the longstanding relationship between advertising and entertainment.

Anderson, Chris. “The Long Tail.” Wired Magazine Issue 12.10. October 2004. < http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html>

Chris Anderson’s article “The Long Tail” (later expanded into a book) introduces the idea of the growing importance of the Long Tail in the way that media is marketed on the internet. It posits that the internet has allowed for a new profitability of the non-“hit” 80% of entertainment product (books, music, DVDs). Ultimately, he argues that the incorporation of the Long Tail into business and marketing models has been advantageous for the entertainment industry, the consumer, and for “culture” as a whole.

The concept of the rising profitability of the Long Tail is a major one in any argument regarding new music marketing on the internet. The Long Tail model is a fundamental example of the way that online consumption of media has changed (and, it is argued, improved) the music industry as a whole. Since 2004, when Anderson first coined his Long Tail idea, we have seen the effects of Amazon, Netflix, and iTunes’s feedback mechanisms for identifying taste and suggesting a focus on less-popular items. Clearly, the exploitation of the Long Tail by these distributors proves the profitability of internet-specific marketing models. Further, I believe that the growth of the Long Tail model has been a taste-making mechanism in the generations that have embraced these internet vendors—not only has the use of the Long Tail shaped marketing initiatives, but it has changed the way the consumer defines their own taste.

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). “IFPI Digital Music Report 2009.” January 2009. <http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2009.pdf>

This report is a production of the IFPI, a worldwide group for the representation of the recording industry. It offers extremely recent data from 2008 which remarks on the success of different world-wide profit-garnering music revenue models; for example, it reports how much of the international market share iTunes currently holds. It also disucsses the way in which the music industry has already changed in its revenue and marketing structure, and gives statistical evidence regarding the results. The report, dated January 2009, details the way the record industry has seen itself change, and the ways it is looking to maintain its authority.

Clearly, this report is not from an unbiased source like the independently-researched “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales.” However, the data is still relevant, and more recent than academic publications. This industry-side discussion demonstrates a contrast to the anti-industry marketing and revenue models that are to be addressed elsewhere. Essentially, it gives an opposing perspective and interesting statistics regarding the effects of file-sharing on international music markests. Finally, it provides some key insights into the ways that the record industry is urgently seeking to maintain control, the ways that intellectual property is viewed by international corporations, and the ways in which they measure success.

Oberholzer-Gee, Felx; Strumpf, Koleman. “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis.” The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 115, No. 1 (Feb., 2007), pp. 1-42. < www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf>

This journal article is a statistical, quantitative analysis of the effects of file sharing on record sales in the United States. It provides a necessary statistical context against which new music initiatives can be explained in terms of new revenue and marketing model development as a result of the digital-music renaissance. It provides data up to 2007 that measures record-sales (online and in stores) as well as expert estimates of file-sharing usage. Additionally, its authors conclude that file-sharing is not primarily responsible for a decline in record sales, a conclusion that has been used in several policy cases regarding the legality of file-sharing.

This article serves several key purposes. First, it provides an empirical background to support the necessary claim that the music industry is changing as a result of online sharing and the proliferation of digital media. Second, its analysis undermines certain assumptions many RIAA proponents maintain regarding the effect of file-sharing on record sales; for example, it is argued that the availability of the “single” online contributes more to the change in revenue structure than P2P networks. Third, it reports digital-music statistics that are important in any argument regarding the business of music on the internet.

Carles. "Animal Collective is a Band Created By/For/On the Internet." Hipster Runoff. 13 January 2009. <http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/01/animal-collective-is-a-band-created-byforon-the-internet.html>

In this blog post, satirical/ironic blogger "Carles" produces one of the most-discussed theses on Internet music of 2009. He posits that the band Animal Collective's most recent release, Merriweather Post Pavillion, was successful specifically because it catered to the tastes of it's internet-savvy audience. In doing so, Animal Collective has thereby defined what it means to be an "internet band": how to walk the fine line between mainstream and authentic taste; how to produce internet hype without immediate backlash; how to produce revenue despite a full-album leak. Hipster Runoff also references the importance of online-criticism mediums like Pitchfork and meme-production in determining the success and respectability of a band. Ultimately, he concludes that the success of Animal Collective is not only the result of but also a reflection upon the band's internet following: a "symbiotic relationship" uniquely achieved.

This Hipster Runoff post is important in the way that it was reflected on throughout the blogging community; it was taken with unusual sincerity, and both praised and criticized. The story of Animal Collective's new rise to prominence (Merriweather Post Pavillion is their fifth album) tells the story of the new internet marketing machine. This CD epitomizes a particular kind of marketing and revenue model on the internet. The Hipster Runoff post takes this a step further, as it analyzes how and why the internet-branding of Animal Collective was successful, and the way the branding of Animal Collective simultaneously contributes to a branding of self. Animal Collective and the Hipster Runoff analysis is an example of the way that online music critics, independent bloggers, and their music-savvy audience are responding to a particular kind of online music marketing.