Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

Yesterday, Desiree sent me an email with a link to this video (thanks, Desiree!):

Until yesterday I had never heard of Jake Shimabukuro. Until right now, there's a good chance that you hadn't heard of him either. After watching the video a number of times yesterday, I decided to go find out more about him. I found out that he's not just some kid with a video cam and some skills, he's actually recorded a few albums. I checked iTunes. It took less than a minute to locate While My Guitar Gently Weeps (link requires iTunes), listen to the sample, purchase it and load it onto my iPod.

I showed the video to my boss -- an avid Jazz fan -- and he said, "This guy is doing for the Ukulele what Béla Fleck did for the banjo." He asked if I had ever heard of Béla Fleck. I said no. He told me to check out his music. I did. Another few minutes and I was downloading Béla Fleck's Whitewater.

This is the long tail. With iTunes, I have a nearly endless supply of music available at any time. When I get a recommendation or hear something I like, I can sample, buy and download a single track within moments. Plus I get additional recommendations directly from iTunes and I can explore other similar music while I'm online.

Five years ago this wouldn't have been possible because broadband was so limited that streaming videos were virtually non existent. Ten years ago it wouldn't have been possible because ten years ago I didn't even have an email address. Today it appears that I'll probably never set foot in a music store again. Why would I? They probably don't have Jake Shimabukuro or Béla Fleck on the shelves. It's hard to sample an album in a music store. And I can't just buy the one single track that I like.

Last note on this: A few months ago my brother and I were talking about classical music. Neither of us are even conversant in the classics, but he mentioned that he has always liked Pachelbel's Canon in D. And why not? You've heard it a zillion times (even if you don't recognize the name). I went to iTunes and browsed through all of the recordings of Pachelbel's Canon in D. There are dozens. What's great is at iTunes I can get a classical recording or I can get: a New Age version by Robin Spielberg or a Holiday version by Brad White & Pierre Grill or a Country version by Dog Mountain or a Folk version by Jeff Pike Barlow (my favorite) or an Electric Guitar version by John Tapella or a Classical Guitar version by Keith Kubena or a Vocal version by Naturally 7. Talk about a long tail!

If you'd like my perspective on the long tail as it pertains to business, read this.