How technology is turning mass markets into millions of niches

What a great article Chris Anderson wrote for Times On Line.

With a third of Amazon’s book sales coming from titles outside of the top 100,000, and growing, it sets you thinking about where we all will get our own particular pieces of information from in the future!

When you think on this …

“Most of the top 50 bestselling albums of all time were recorded in the
Seventies and Eighties (the Eagles, Michael Jackson), and none of them
was made in the past five years. Hollywood box-office revenue was down
by more than 6 per cent in 2005, reflecting the reality that the
cinema-going audience is falling even as the population grows.”

and this …

“No 1 is still No 1, but the sales that go with that are not what they once were.”

and this …

“although we still obsess over hits, they are not quite the economic
force they once were. Where are those fickle consumers going instead?
No single place. They are scattered to the winds as markets fragment
into countless niches.”

Read Chris’s excellent article here … and support him … buy his book!

Brave new world of a million niches beats the blockbusters – Business – Times Online