MySpace's plan to allow indie artists to sell downloads may be an example of how vendors can use the "Long Tail" to make money. Too bad it won't help artists very much.


The Long Tail theory is basically that the infinite shelf space made possible by the internet enhances the market value for niche products, or in the case of the music business, indie artists. Unfortunately, the real benefit of the "long tail" flows to the vendor, not the artists.

The indie artists of MySpace may make $3, or $33.45, or $150 for an entire year -- but if there are 3 million artists and each AVERAGES only $50, that's $150 million gross. If MySpace takes a chunk (MySpace and SnoCap will share a 45 cents transaction fee for every download) that's a tidy profit. Assuming the average download is 99 cents, MySpace and SnoCap will make around 67 million. And this doesn't include advertising revenues.

Meanwhile the average artist gross will only be $50.