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.
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.