home
about/contact
Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.
My personal website has links to my LinkedIn and Google+ pages and you can send e-mail to david [at] thelayaways [dot] com.
Support
If you enjoy this site, please consider downloading a Layaways track or album from iTunes, Amazon MP3, Bandcamp, or eMusic. CDs are available from CD Baby and Amazon.
links
music/media/tech:
Analog Industries
Ars Technica
AppleInsider
Brad Sucks Blog
Broken Record
Digital Music News
Duke Listens
Future of Music Coalition Blog
Hypebot
LA Times Technology Blog
The ListeNerd
Medialoper
Mediashift
MP3 Insider
Music Ally
Music Machinery
Music Think Tank
MusicTank
The Music Void
New Music Strategies
Online Fandom
Pakman's Blog
RAIN
Rough Type
RoughlyDrafted
Swindleeeee
TuneTuzer
Virtual Economics
economics/markets:
The Big Picture
Core Economics
Freakonomics
The Long Tail
Marginal Revolution
The Undercover Economist
mp3/music:
17 Dots
3hive
Fingertips
Shake Your Fist
Sounds Like the 80s
Unleash the Love
archives
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
April 2012
May 2012
June 2012
August 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
June 2013
August 2013
February 2014
March 2014
September 2014
December 2014
March 2015
October 2015
November 2015
December 2015
October 2016
May 2017
September 11, 2006
The Long Tail of eMusic?by David Harrell
The Long Tail of eMusic?
We haven't announced anything yet, but my band is considering a -- let's say -- seasonal release before our third album comes out in early 2007. So I spent some last week looking at chart numbers on the eMusic site to try to get a gauge of the popularity of various sub-categories. Specifically, I was trying to determine what percentage of albums are downloaded within the three charting periods.
You can use the Browse section to find out how many albums are in the overall catalog (144,896), as well as numbers for each of the 12 main style categories. And the Charts section shows the number of albums in each category that were downloaded during the past day, month, and week. (Based on the sales figures and chart positions of the two albums we have in the eMusic catalog, I'm fairly certain that an individual download from an album counts towards its chart placement.)
After half an hour of clicking, I was able to put together the following table (shoot me an e-mail if you'd like a copy of the Excel file):
The Long Tail of eMusic -- Percentage of Albums Downloaded
| Category | # Albums | % Day | % Week | % Month |
| Entire eMusic Catalog | 144,896 | 9.95 | 29.53 | 52.87 |
| Alternative/Punk | 17,801 | 14.64 | 38.99 | 63.29 |
| Blues | 4,443 | 12.33 | 39.30 | 68.08 |
| Classical | 11,734 | 9.42 | 37.15 | 67.55 |
| Country/Folk | 9,944 | 12.00 | 32.06 | 53.92 |
| Electronic | 15,559 | 9.80 | 31.12 | 55.66 |
| Hip-Hop/R&B | 9,256 | 10.73 | 29.27 | 49.48 |
| International | 26,763 | 6.07 | 22.11 | 44.49 |
| Jazz | 13,216 | 12.83 | 42.34 | 69.70 |
| New Age | 3,175 | 8.91 | 35.24 | 62.71 |
| Rock/Pop | 29,753 | 8.88 | 25.23 | 43.60 |
| Soundtracks/Other | 7,514 | 9.44 | 28.55 | 50.96 |
| Spiritual | 4,576 | 7.41 | 25.68 | 46.59 |
Note: The sum of album numbers for each category exceeds 144,896 because some albums appear in more than one category. Data obtained from emusic.com on Sunday, September 10, 2006, "All of eMusic" numbers are from Monday, September 11, 2006
Overall, more than half of the albums (or at least portions of those albums) in the eMusic catalog were downloaded during the past month. Given the obscurity of many of the artists in the catalog, that's a big percentage. However, it's quite a bit smaller than some of the numbers given in the Long Tail book -- 98% for the Ecast jukebox, 95% for the NetFlix catalog, etc. Those 90+ percentages, however, were generally for a quarter, not a single month. Over a three-month period, I'm assuming the percent-of-catalog numbers for eMusic would be somewhat higher.
I don't have the data to assess the slope of the curve for eMusic downloads, but I've often wondered if it's somewhat hit-oriented. That is, high-charting albums might tend to stay that way because they're more prominent in the system. A subscriber looking for something to download is more likely to see the top-ranked albums when looking through the charts or browse pages, resulting a self-perpetuating chart position.
Also, I wouldn't read too much into the relative percentage downloads for a particular category. They're not necessarily a good indication of its actual popularity with eMusic subscribers. For example, in the Blues category, tracks from 3,025 albums were downloaded over the past month, resulting in one of the higher percent-of-category numbers (68%). The International category has a much lower percent-of-category number, just 44.49%, but tracks from 11,908 albums were downloaded over the past month, nearly 4X the number of downloaded Blues albums.
As for the seasonal project we're considering, the eMusic numbers look good, even considering the above caveat. There are 998 "Holiday" albums in the catalog. Nearly 60% of them have had downloads in the past month. Not bad, given that it's only September.
related: The Long Tail, the Fat Middle, and Tiny Slices
tags: eMusic The Long Tail digital downloads
link 3 comments e-mail listen to the Layaways on Spotify
Follow @digitalaudio Tweet
More Digital Audio Insider: Newer Posts Older Posts
Subscribe:
RSS FeedAdd this blog to Del.icio.us, Digg, or Furl. Follow David Harrell on Google+.
The Digital Audio Insider Twitter feed:
Digital music jobs: Looking to hire? Looking for a job? Check out the digital audio insider job board.
Popular Posts
A Long Tail Experiment
By the Numbers: Using Last.fm Statistics to Quantify Audience Devotion
Lala.com Owes Me Sixty Cents
An Interview with Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven
Price Elasticity of Demand for McCartney
Sony and eMusic: What I Missed
The Digital Pricing Conundrum series:
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four
THE LAYAWAYS
Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:
"This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium
"Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs
O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
Away In A Manger - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.
"...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop
"Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive
"...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL
Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
January - free mp3
Keep It To Yourself - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.
"The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music
"Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio
Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
The Long Night - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
"These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover
Let Me In - free mp3
Ocean Blue - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
More Layaways downloads:
the layaways website