Weird Al Gets His Due Thanks to the Long Tail

Congrats to Weird Al Yankovic. After producing parodies for decades, he finally has his biggest hit ever (yes, bigger than the ones in the '80s). Why now? He tapped into the Long Tail of marketing and used a combination of clever ways to promote his latest record online, including YouTube.

Comments

[Lee Aase]

I would only take issue a bit with Steve's characterization of this as a Long Tail example. I understand the essence of the Long Tail as niche marketing, or as the subtitle of the book says, "Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More." In his recent use of internet technology along with exposure in traditional media (CNN, etc.), Weird Al has his biggest hit ever. He'll be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Nov. 2. Al's in the head now, not the tail.

The Long Tail is about making it economically viable for non-hits (or oldies) to still see the light of day, because inventory and delivery costs have essentially reached zero, and search helps us find even obscure titles. Weird Al has lots of songs that are truly part of the Long Tail: "Addicted to Spuds" can be available on iTunes even though it would never find shelf space at Tower Records. (Come to think of it, even the big hits aren't getting shelf space at Tower anymore.)

[scott]

He's white. He's nerdy. It's always important to know your demographic.

[David Scott Lewis]

This is one of the best produced and funniest videos I have ever seen!! Thanks to The Planet TV Show for keeping me in the loop (their 22 September video podcast showed the clip).

http://www.dailyplanettv.net/2006/09/22/dptv-180-2006-09-22/

[Ike]

I think Steve is just jealous that Al knows pi to a thousand places -- ain't got a grille but he still wears braces...