I started the Long Tail by Chris Anderson about two weeks ago and I’m only halfway through it. It’s not that it’s a bad book, in fact the concept is compelling, but let me save you some money by telling you the whole plot.
Spoiler: the internet has allowed less mainstream tastes to be turned into money. This is due to cheaper distribution, less of a reliance on geographic proximity, user recommendations, and all the other goodies that the Internet offers. You get the point.
If you want to read lots of case study examples about how this works, then read the book. Otherwise, just trust me.