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.

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.