is dead!
Pop culture is based on scarcity. It’s very likely that if there are just a few radio or TV stations, many people will watch the same show or listen to the same music at the same time.
A popular TV show from fifty years ago would have reached 20 times the number of people today as a hit song.
The long tail has other benefits. More options, more innovation.
The cost of production has dropped dramatically, not just because of the long tail of consumption. The innovations in cameras, computers and AI allow people to create content without the need for permission.
Here’s the latest AI breakthrough: a Paul McCartney recent song, ‘updated” to use the voice a young Paul McCartney.
Here is a short snippet:
This is amazing in terms of technology, but what it really highlights is the fact that, within a couple weeks, AI will be creating thousands (or even millions) new songs, which we can stream on YouTube. Some will be mediocre. Some of them will be breakthroughs. Some will be breakthroughs.
Music (or writing music) is a human activity that will never go away. The commercial dynamics of a thousand people in Nashville or Hollywood making it big with a typewriter, or guitar, will never go away.
The rise of AI and the long tail has brought us back to the turn of the century. It’s just like it was before-small groups of people and not mass markets. This time, there are endless choices and a business plan that is difficult to imagine.
PS My friend Paige just released a new eBook. The digital edition is free to read with the password .
