« Half a billion, more or less | Main | SAP's mixed-up confusion »
Packaging is everything
November 28, 2006
Bear Stearns analyst Spencer Wang gave a long and interesting presentation yesterday on the new economics of the media and entertainment business, called "The Long Tail: Why Aggregation & Context and Not (Necessarily) Content Are King in Entertainment." A pdf of his presentation can be downloaded here. The presentation builds on the themes in Chris Anderson's book, putting them into the context of a formal value-chain analysis.
Wang argues that both ends of the value chain - content creation and content distribution - are increasingly characterized by oversupply and hence weak profitability. Value, as a result, is migrating to the center of the value chain, where content aggregation and branding take place. The profit, in other words, is in packaging.
UPDATE: The full Bear Stearns report can be downloaded here.
Advertisement: Coming this spring: Nicholas Carr's new book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains. Preorder now from Amazon.
Comments
I suppose cutting out the middle man has always been a bit of a pipe dream. We will always need their help to navigate unfamiliar waters, be it a divorce lawyer or a content aggregating bot.
The thing I find interesting is that perhaps there is room for an infinite amount of middle men. The Internet is about varying levels of granularity, or expertise. Google and Co will certainly play a big part in pointing you in the right direction, but AllRecipies.com will get you in touch with the lady from Boise that has the killer chocolate chip cookies.
The crux of the argument hits you on slide 27, 28 and 29. Great find, Nick! Thanks for the links.
Posted by: ericlussier ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.roughtype.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 29, 2006 07:57 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
Nick's next book:
Nick's latest book:
"Future Shock for the web-apps era" -Fast Company
"Ominously prescient" -Kirkus Reviews
"Riveting stuff" -New York Post
Greatest hits
Avatars consume as much electricity as Brazilians
The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock's avatar
Flight of the wingless coffin fly
Other writing
The end of corporate computing
Nick's first book:
Order from Amazon
Visit book site