The advent of the Internet has transformed the experience of music, partly
through the increased ease of access to music and the increased choice.
Chris Anderson, in his book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is
Selling Less of More, suggests that while the economic model
of supply and demand describes scarcity, the Internet retail model is based on abundance.
Digital storage costs are low, so a company can afford
to make its whole inventory available online, giving customers as much choice as possible.
It has thus become economically viable to offer products
that very few people are interested in. Consumers' growing awareness
of their increased choice results in a closer association between listening tastes
and social identity, and the creation of thousands of niche markets.