![]() Blockbusters tend to be self-reinforcing, because firms spend more to promote products they think stand a better chance of becoming popular. In 2011 just 102 of the 8m digital musical tracks sold generated nearly a sixth of all sales. The tail has become longer, but the internet has helped bestsellers become even bigger, because people follow the recommendations of friends and casual consumers opt for known quantities. Ms Elberse originally refuted Mr Anderson’s work in a 2008 article for the Harvard Business Review, which is the basis for her book. With unlimited “shelf” space available online and more refined search algorithms to direct people to songs and books they might be interested in, niche products would attract more attention and a greater share of spending. In 2006 Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired and a former journalist at The Economist, wrote “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More”, in which he argued that the internet would change the demand curve for entertainment products. But it is not what business experts predicted would happen. The thesis that popular products earn more money might seem as obvious as the plot of the latest Hollywood film you saw. Ms Elberse cites Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books) as one example: the top 10% of its titles account for 64% of the publisher’s costs, but 126% of its profits. Ms Elberse uses case studies from the film, television, music and sporting worlds to argue that, counterintuitively, “the idea of smaller bets being ‘safer’ is a myth.” Nurturing a few choice works-and pumping marketing dollars their way-helps firms create superstars and super products, and is the key to far higher profits. Conventional corporate wisdom maintains that spreading resources across many smaller properties is sounder than pushing money into a few big, concentrated bets. The entertainment industry’s search for the golden release is the focus of “Blockbusters” by Anita Elberse, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. Popular films, books, music albums and sports teams that bring in huge audiences-and vast profits-can determine whether a year is profitable or loss-making, and break a boss’s career. Today it is the kind of hit creation that every media executive prays for. IN THE second world war a “blockbuster” was a bomb that could obliterate whole streets. Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment. ![]()
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