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.