This book has benefited from the help and collaboration of literally thousands of people, thanks to the relatively open process of having it start as a widely read article and continue in public as a blog of work in progress. The result is that there are many people to thank, both hereand in the chapter notes at the end of the book.

IN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BUSINESS BOOKS since The Tipping Point, Chris Anderson shows how the future of business and culture isn't in hits, the high-volume head of a traditional demand curve, but in what used to be regarded as misses--the endlessly long tail of that same curve.

What happens when everything in the world becomes available to everyone? When the combined value of all the millions of items that may sell only a few copies equals or exceeds the value of the few items that sell millions each? When a bunch of kids with no profit motive can record a song or make a video and get the same electronic distribution for it as the most powerful corporation?

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, first explored "The Long Tail" in an article that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Using the worlds of movies, books, and music, he showed how the Internet has made possible a new world in which the combined value of modest sellers and quirky titles equals the sales of the top hits. He coined the term "The Long Tail" to describe this phenomenon, a phrase that's since appeared in boardrooms and media around the world.

Now, in this highly anticipated book, Anderson shows how we got to this point, and the huge opportunities that exist: for new producers, new aggregators, and new tastemakers. He discusses the reputation economy; the end of inventory; the Wal-Mart effect; the lower of peer production; and the rise of massively parallel culture. He demonstrates how Long Tail economics applies to industries ranging from the toy business to advertising to kitchen appliances. He gives the nine rules for operating in a Long Tail economy. And he provides a glimpse of a future that's already here.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Long Tail

2. The Rise and Fall of the Hit

3. A Short History of the Long Tail

4. The Three Forces of the Long Tail

5. The New Producers

6. The New Markets

7. The New Tastemakers

8. Long Tail Economics

9. The Short Head

10. The Paradise of Choice

11. Niche Culture

12. The Infinite Screen

13. Beyond Entertainment

14. Long Tail Rules

Coda: Tomorrow's Tail

Notes on Sources and Further Reading

Index