Does the Long Tail Threaten Subscription Services?
Steve Rubel should send a bottle of antacid to subscription services everywhere. He raises the question of whether the Long Tail will diminish demand (and willingness to pay) for subscription services online.
I would argue that the Long Tail will not threaten creative and innovative providers. In fact, it will probably create new opportunities. Just as Apple found that it could serve as a podcast aggregator (which led Steve to abandon Audible.com), others will do the same.
The wealth of innovation online causes me to increase my online subscriptions, not decrease them. So which of us is the norm?
For the record, here are the paid online subscriptions I remember that I have: Audible, QuickBooks Online, Quicken BillPay, Xdrive, iBackup, espn.com, WSJ.com, TypePad, summary.com, eFax, and OnlyMyEmail.