MOTM

very interesting essay from Robert Rich, about the realities of 
being a musician at the "low end of the long tail", here: 
http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/04/the_reality_of.php

for background on the Long Tail, check wikipedia... in simplist 
terms, its a theory of niche marketing.  the idea that a musician 
could make a sustainable living by cultivating 1,000 true fans who 
support his work on an ongoing basis is a popular meme these days, 
and on the surface sounds like a welcome antidote to mass-marketed 
lowest-common-denominator pap.

besides offering a lot of insight into the realities of this 
approach for Robert, i couldn't help but see parrallels to other 
niche productions... like, say, modular synths...  for instance:

"... it's easy to get trapped into the expectations of these True 
Fans... if we play to the same 1000 people, and keep doing the same 
basic thing, eventually the Fans become sated and don't feel a need 
to purchase this year's model, when it's almost identical to last 
year's but in a slightly different shade of black...."

worth reading.

bbob
www.fluxmonkey.com