Since this is my first post I thought I’d tell you about a book that beautifully illustrates what this blog is about, the inevitable merger of music and technology.

Chris Anderson, editor for Wired Magazine, has written one of the most important books of the year, “The Long Tail.” Although the book was not written for the music industry specifically, its relevance to the future of the industry is vital information for anyone in the biz.

We all know that the industy is in flux. The old “hits” driven business model that the music industry was built on is crumbling. In its place is a long tail of semi-hits and decent successes. Rather than a fortunate few making all the money, it is now being spread across a greater number of smaller labels and independent musicians. Niche driven markets are replacing hit-driven markets. This translates to the possiblity of more career musicians that can support themselves and less superstars buying up acres of McMansions in Georgia.

Online music retailers such as I-Tunes can house millions of tracks in their monsterous libraries. Far more than the average brick and mortar retail music store. And while the storefront probably only sells about 20 percent of its total merchandise in a three month period, online retailers report 90-100 percent of their tracks are selling during that same time. It appears, the more that’s available the more that will sell.

So, how does a band or musician capitalize on this phenomenon?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Make as many of your tracks, past and present, available through as many online retailers as possible. Consider contacting a digital distributor like Iris or The Orchard to help you with the process. The Orchard has a list of Online retailers here.
2. Record the songs that didn’t make it on the record, dust off the songs you left behind and finish the ones you weren’t sure about. Create your content and make it availalbe. The more you have to offer the more you have to sell. It no longer takes a big budget to lay down a few tracks. Here are some great open source audio recording and editing software options: Ardour and Audacity
I highly recommend all musicians read The Long Tail.