Superstars and underdogs

The rise of online channels facilitates the distribution of a wide range of products and services. Academics and industry observers agree that online distribution will fundamentally change the number and variety of products that consumers purchase. However, there is sharp disagreement about what type of change will occur. Proponents of the "long tail" idea argue that a sharp increase in the variety of products offered through online channels will fuel a shift in consumption away from hits to a much larger number of lower-selling niche products. While the long-tail view predicts an increase in the heterogeneity of consumption patterns, the well-known superstar effect promises the exact opposite. As consumers have access to their favorite content wherever they are whenever they demand it, consumption patterns will become more, not less uniform, this theory predicts.