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The emergence of Web 2.0 media such as blogs, wikis
and social networking sites, has been described as a
move toward the “age of participation,”
where the role of individuals as consumers has evolved
into a mode where they not only consume media but also
participate in the creation of the media (The Economist
2006). Studies have found that consumer-generated media
is the most trusted form of advertising among consumers.
Blogs, a specific type of consumer-generated media and
a form of online word-of-mouth, have emerged as an important
medium for consumer-to-consumer communication in the
media world in general, and in the music industry in
particular. With the advent of video and music blogging,
the word “blog” has taken on an even looser
meaning — that of any bit of media wherein the
subject expresses his opinion or simply talks about
something.
Music blogs not only provide a forum for online discussion
of music, but they provide a mechanism for music sampling
as well. In most cases, sampling allows consumers to
listen to parts of songs or entire songs. Sampling music
off of blogs can be a viable alternative to purchasing
music. While previous studies have examined the impact
of word-of-mouth on product sales (such as books), CRITO
researchers Sanjeev Dewan and Jui Ramaprasad examine
how music blogging influences music sampling and the
consumer choice of what types of music to sample. Their
research focuses on music blogs on the Internet and
their impact on online sampling.
 Dewan
and Ramaprasad build upon the emerging literature on
the online Long Tail effect (a term popularized by a
Wired magazine article and book (Anderson, 2004 &
2006). The idea behind the Long Tail is that our culture
and economy are increasingly shifting away from a focus
on a relatively small number of hits (mainstream products
and markets) at the head of the demand curve, and moving
toward a huge number of niches in the tail. There is
ample anecdotal evidence suggesting that the impact
of the Internet is potentially greater for music off
the mainstream. For example, the success of the Arcade
Fire album “Funeral” went against the traditional
months of touring and record shop-hype. This underground
band became famous in just a few short weeks via enthusiastic
blog reviews.
“…no factor is more significant than the
Internet, which has shaken up industry sales patterns
and, perhaps more important, upended the traditional
hierarchy of outlets that can promote music. Buzz about
an underground act can spread like a virus, allowing
a band to capture national acclaim before it even has
a recording contract…” (The New York Times,
2005)
The trends indicate that there is a shift in demand
towards albums released by independent labels. Dewan
and Ramaprasad focus on the alternate form of consumption
in their research – the online sampling, relative
to music sales. The initial results of their research
indicate that consumer blogging has an important influence
on music sampling, and that this effect is more influential
than the inherent popularity of the song, particularly
when compared to music sales. They find that music blogs
cater to an audience that is different from the mainstream,
as reflected in the revealed preferences contained in
music ratings. Blog influence is a positive and significant
determinant of music sampling. Overall they find that
blog influence and popularity are substitutes in terms
of how they interact with each other, so that the more
popular a piece of music, the lower the relative impact
of blogging on consumer music sampling. They also find
that while popularity is an important driver of sampling
and sales for mainstream music, blogs are driving increased
sampling in the emergence of more obscure music.
This research contributes to the understanding of the
role and impact of Web 2.0 technologies in today’s
increasingly networked world. Blogs enable individuals
to form communities where they can find other individuals
with similar interest and these communities then become
an important source of information and consumers for
the music creators catering to that niche. Without these
communities, many consumers may not be exposed to the
word-of-mouth about music they are exposed to while
reading these blogs. Artists are also beginning to understand
that online word-of-mouth could significantly diminish
or eliminate the need for record labels.
This also has implications for outside of the music
industry. In a broader sense, their study represents
the role of Web 2.0 communities in the creation and
impact of blogs. They hope to extend their research
and to continue examining the impact of blogging and
other Web 2.0 technologies in other contexts.
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