Revenue from the Long Tail

Revenue from the Long Tail Advanced Level: Grammar: Dependent Prepositions & Conjunctions Pronunciation: /e/ Functional Vocabulary: Business Expressions Listening: The Long Tail Phrasal Verbs: Set, Bring, Keep Reading: The Beatles still earning revenue Cultural Awareness: Why is music important? Role Play: Try to stop Copyright Infringement www.businessenglishstudy.com 1

Questions: What do you know about The Beatles? Where does their name come from? THE BEATLES READING EXERCISE: EXERCISE 1: Correct the spelling mistake in each line: The Beatles were an English rok band, active during the 1960s and the most commercially sucesful and critically acclaimed act in popular music. Formed in Liverpool, in 1962 the group was made up off John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The group wirked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, incorporating classical arrangements in there songs. EXERCISE 2: Correct the grammatical error in each line: The name were inspired by the film "The Wild One." A motorcycle gang wearing black leather jackets is called the Beetles (insect). It be suggested to John Lennon as the new name for his band and he said yes, but we'll spell it Beatles, as were a beat group." They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after there first single, "Love Me Do", became a modest hit in 1962, and they acquire the nickname the "Fab Four". By 1964 they become international stars. After 1966 they produced some of their best material, includes the innovative album: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. www.businessenglishstudy.com 2

EXERCISE 3: Put a suitable preposition into the gaps: Lennon was murdered his home George Harrison died Los Angeles New York City in 1980. cancer 2001. McCartney and Starr remain active. The Beatles are the best-selling band break history, and 4 decades, their recordings are still their demand. GRAMMAR POINT 1 Correlative Conjunctions W hat Are Correlative Conjunctions? They are conjunction pairs and you have to use both of them in different places in a sentence to make them work. They get their name from the fact that they work together (co-) and relate one sentence element to another. Correlative conjunctions include pairs like: both and / either or / whether or / neither nor / not but / not only but also Other pairs that often have a coordinating function (activity) include the following: such that / scarcely when / as many as / no sooner than / rather than EXERCISE: Combine the following sentences into one sentence using these correlative conjunctions. In some cases more than one option is possible: whether or / neither nor / not only but / scarcely when / as many as / rather than / as many as 1. There are never enough customers. There are too many products. 2. I d want to go to the concert. I don t want to watch it on TV. 3. Did you want orange juice or water? I got you both. 4. I arrived in the room. I had to leave again. 5. OK, you don t want pizza. You don t want pasta. No problem. 6. I ll take them both. The CD and the DVD. www.businessenglishstudy.com 3

In business, there is a theory called The Long Tail. What is a tail? What does the phrase mean? The Long Tail is a way to describe niche marketing and the way it works on the Internet. Traditionally records, books, movies, and other items were geared towards creating "hits." Stores could only afford to carry the most popular items because they needed enough people in an area to buy their goods in order to recoup their overhead expenses. The Internet changed all that. It allows people to find less popular items and subjects. It turns out that there's profit in those "misses," too. Amazon can sell obscure books, Netflix can rent obscure movies, and itunes can sell obscure songs. That's all possible because the Internet has taken geographic location out of the equation. SPEAKING EXERCISE: In pairs, explain the Long Tail theory to your partner. Partner should ask questions of clarification e.g. So, the Long Tail only works with the Internet. Is that right? www.businessenglishstudy.com 4

LISTENING 1: Exercise: listen to the audio and answer the questions 1. Who identified the Long Tail? 2. Why is the Long Tail book kind of funny? 3. What do people misunderstand about the Long Tail? 4. What does it really mean? GRAMMAR POINT 2: Dependent Prepositions EXERCISE 1: decide what preposition goes with each verb. 1. Rely 2. Protect 3. Choose for - against - between - to - with - in - at - about - on - from 4. Prevented 5. Devoted 6. Deal 7. Complain 8. Laugh 9. Confidence 10. Hoping EXERCISE 2: Put the correct verb and preposition into the gaps. 1. In 1965 people The Beatles hair. 2. I have every the new system. I am sure it will be a success. 3. The director is an immediate improvement in sales. 4. Can we him to come here on Friday? He is forgetful. 5. We our house the heavy rains and flooding. 6. I can t the two candidates. They are both very good. 7. The manager was leaving the building by protestors. 8. The company had to a strike in their American factory. 9. He is music and listens to it all day long. 10. He went to the head office and the service. www.businessenglishstudy.com 5

PRONUNCIATION: Short or Long /e/ Short /e/ sounds like: net Long /e/ sounds like: neat Exercise: Say these words and decide if they are short sound or long sound /e/ Meant - Fled - Meat - Met - Exit - Team - Second - Meet - Smell - Bet - Beat - Pepper - Greet - Set - Seat - Beach - Bench - Shell - Deal - Help - Bee - Be - Feel - Fell - Hell - Heal - Lend - Lean - Felt - Men - Red - Read - Said - Seed - impede - Letter - Debt LISTENING 2 Exercise: Put a preposition into the gaps and then listen to see if you were correct. So if you, if you can t think what that means strategically an economic point view, I guess the key message from, for a record label might be, get together as much of that kind stuff as you possibly can. Whether it s the outtakes, whether it s the demos, you know, just gather it all together and sell small amounts lots of things because it s economically viable do that. a band s perspective it means you ve got team. You ve got work other people. You ve got to get with a group, because you re not going make a lot money selling your music if your music is unpopular. But a combined forces, if you like, you can team and be the preferred visiting point all the people who like that kind thing and you re more likely be discovered that way. www.businessenglishstudy.com 6

READING: Continuing to Generate Revenue - The Beatles EXERCISE: Put the paragraphs in the correct order 1. By comparison, Adele earned $21 million, while Sheeran made $12 million. 2. The Beatles earned more money in 2017 than Ed Sheeran and Adele. Despite splitting up in 1970, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, together with the estates from the Beatles two dead members, received $35 million from their licensing company, Apple Corps. 3. The earning list, published by Forbes, was topped by Taylor Swift, who made $75 million over 2017. 4. Paul McCartney earns $48 million per year. This means $4 million per month, and $1 million per week. 5. How successful are the Beatles today? Apple made a big deal of The Beatles finally being available on itunes. They sold 2 million individual songs in the first week along with 450,000 albums generating over $8 million in revenue. SPEAKING PRACTICE: In pairs, discuss who you think is the highest paid actor or sportsperson in the world. Do they have a long tail? LISTENING 3 1. What happened in 1970? 2. What happens with packaging? 3. What do they do with segmentation? 4. How do they control distribution? 5. What does this restrictive and creative strategy do? www.businessenglishstudy.com 7

PHRASAL VERBS: Set / Keep / Bring 1. We had a serious set when the system crashed and we lost the data. against - back - straight - out 2. We are going to bring the issue at the next meeting. up - apart - away - back 3. We have to invest in R & D to keep our competitors. back - down - from - ahead of 4. John keeps me to buy a new computer, but there s no money. back - down - from - on at 5. We set the system to repeat the order every month. through - out - up - on 6. There was a big argument in the meeting but I just kept it. without - into - through - out of 7. The financial crisis nearly brought the company. down - apart - out - under 8. We were all set enter the CD market when the industry crashed. against - out - to - in 9. The Beatles were bringing a million dollars a day in 1970. against - out - to - in ROLE-PLAY The Beatles have copyright infringement issues caused by the Internet. What can they do? In small groups, decide what can be done about piracy and illegal downloads. Is there a solution, or should it be tolerated? WRITING EXERCISE (homework) Write a short letter to The Beatles, suggesting a plan of action to deal with copyright infringements on the Internet. www.businessenglishstudy.com 8

BUSINESS EXPRESSIONS: 1. Digital music trends? I need a to understand it all. crash course / closing a deal / coining it in / chew this over 2. The results were bad but made them look better. a copped out / a bad machine / a cold head / creative accounting 3. We always make mistakes when we try to. cut corners / cut sides / cut up / cut in 4. I can t decide right now. Can I? Take a ride / chew the meat / sleep on it / close my mind 5. He isn't a very good salesman. He struggles to. fold the deal / bring the deal / take the deal / close the deal 6. She didn t ask the hard questions at the meeting. She. threw in / bottled it / cut above / blew in SPEAKING PRACTICE: Why do we like Music? Most people who like music say it is because of its melody, its rhythm, or associations with a time, a place or a person. Do you agree? Is music a fundamental feeling, with origins in our subconscious? Does music transcend culture and time? With a partner, discuss: What music do you like? Why? What images or memories does music evoke in you? What music don t you like? Why? Present your ideas to the class. www.businessenglishstudy.com 9

Norwegian Wood (This bird has flown) The Beatles Exercise: Read the lyrics and in pairs discuss the meaning of the song? Is it a love story? Are the girl and boy happy? What do you think the last verse means? Go to this link on the Internet and play the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92nj_doqyoc I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me. She showed me her room, isn't it good, Norwegian wood? She asked me to stay and she told me to sit anywhere, So, I looked around and I noticed there wasn't a chair. I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine. We talked until two, and then she said, "It's time for bed." She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh. I told her I didn't and crawled off to sleep in the bath. And when I awoke I was alone, this bird had flown. So I lit a fire, isn't it good, Norwegian wood? www.businessenglishstudy.com 10

LESSON PLAN The Beatles Advanced Key objective to practice Business English fluency INTRODUCTION: Ask the students what they know about The Beatles. Teacher (T) Students (SS) 5 mins READING 1: Go through reading exercises and ask students to read out loud, and correct the mistakes. (S) (T) 10 mins GRAMMAR 1: Go through rules of using Correlative Conjunctions and then ask students to do the exercise that follows. (S) (T) 10 mins READING: Ask students about the Long Tail theory. Get students to read the text and then ask students to do the Speaking Practice that follows. (S) (T) 10 mins LISTENING 1: Next tell students they are going to hear a spokesperson talking about The Long Tail theory. Play the listening. Students answer questions. (T) (SS) 10 mins GRAMMAR 2: Ask students to match the verb with its Dependent Preposition and then ask students to do the gap fill exercise that follows. (S) (T) 10 mins PRONUNCIATION: Ask the students to pronounce the words and say if it is a long /e/ or short /e/. Drill any words that are poorly pronounced and explain meaning. (T) (SS) 5 mins LISTENING 2: Next tell students to fill gaps with a preposition before the listening. Play listening and check for accuracy. (T) (SS) 10 mins READING 2: Students read text and then put paragraphs in correct order. Go to Speaking Practice and discuss the point. (S) (T) 10 mins LISTENING 3: Play listening and students answer the questions. (T) (SS) 10 mins PHRASAL VERB VOCABULARY: Ask the students to select the correct preposition for the phrasal verbs. (S) (T) 10 mins ROLE-PLAY: students in teams discuss copyright infringements and the Internet. Encourage debate. Take questions. (S) (T) 10 mins WRITING EXERCISE: Ask students to write a short letter about the copyright problem (homework). (S) (T) 10 mins BUSINESS EXPRESSIONS: Students to select the appropriate expression in the gaps (SS) (T) 10 mins SPEAKING PRACTICE: Discuss the importance of music. Ask students what it means to them. (T) (SS) 15 mins SPEAKING PRACTICE: Discuss the song lyrics to Norwegian Wood. Source a recording and play it to students. (T) (SS) 5 mins www.businessenglishstudy.com 11

Audio Scripts Listening 1 The long tail is a really interesting phenomenon that Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine, first identified and then wrote about in an article, and then the book came out, that s a best seller, which a lot of people think is kind of funny because it s talking about the opposite of best sellers, I guess. But a lot of people misunderstand what the long tail is about. They think what it means is: stuff that isn t popular will be profitable now. That s not what it means. What it means is, you can now make money selling lots and lots of things that aren t popular. And so the kind of key message for that is not, the Internet has come to save the day, and all of the people that make music that nobody likes are going to suddenly find it profitable. What it means is, a niche can be carved up and you can say, I m going to, I m going to gather together all of the things that are like this and I m going to make more money selling fewer amounts of more things. And I think that s a, that s a really interesting thing. Listening 2 So if you, if you can t think of what that means strategically from an economic point of view, I guess the key message from, for a record label might be, get together as much of that kind of stuff as you possibly can. Whether it s the outtakes, whether it s the demos, you know, just gather it all together and sell small amounts of lots of things because it s economically viable to do that. From a band s perspective it means you ve got to team up. You ve got to work with other people. You ve got to get in with a group, because you re not going to make a lot of money selling your music if your music is unpopular. But with a combined forces, if you like, you can team up and be the preferred visiting point for all the people who like that kind of thing and you re more likely to be discovered too. Listening 3 So how can globally popular groups like The Beatles exploit the long tail? The Beatles are experts in managing their music portfolio, even though they have not produced anything new since 1970. The group saturated the market while they were actively producing music, and built up a huge musical catalogue. Once they broke up, the challenge was to manage the long tail. This means tightly controlling access to their music. They are creative in terms of packaging and repackaging the albums into different concepts. Ballads or rock, for example. Next, they segment the market by releasing rare tracks, interviews and demo tapes. Distribution is also important and the music is released slowly to create a demand as they did through itunes, ten years after the ipod was launched. This restrictive and creative strategy introduces The Beatles to new customers, and reintroduces their music to long time fans. www.businessenglishstudy.com 12

EXERCISE ANSWERS READING EXERCISE 1: The Beatles were an English rock band, active during the 1960s and the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed act in popular music. Formed in Liverpool, in 1962 the group was made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The group worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, incorporating classical arrangements in their songs. EXERCISE 2: The name was inspired by the film "The Wild One." A motorcycle gang wearing black leather jackets was called the Beetles (insect). It was suggested to John Lennon as the new name for his band and he said yes, but we'll spell it Beatles, as we re a beat group." They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first single, "Love Me Do", became a modest hit in 1962, and they acquired the nickname the "Fab Four". By 1964 they had become international stars. After 1966 they produced some of their best material, including the innovative album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. EXERCISE 3: Lennon was murdered outside his home in New York City in 1980. George Harrison died in Los Angeles of cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain active. The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, and over four decades after their break up, their recordings are still in demand. LISTENING 1 1. Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine 2. It is a best seller and it talks about the opposite of best sellers 3. They think what it means is: stuff that isn t popular will be profitable now. 4. You can now make money selling lots and lots of things that aren t popular GRAMMAR - CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS 1. There are never as many customers as there are products. 2. I d rather go to the concert than watch it on TV. 3. I didn t know whether you d want water or orange juice, so I got you both. 4. I had scarcely walked in the room when I had to leave again. 5. OK, you want neither the pasta nor the pizza. No problem. 6. I ll take them both, not only the CD but also the DVD. DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS - EXERCISE 1: 1. Rely on 2. Protect against 3. Choose between 4. Prevented from 5. Devoted to 6. Deal with 7. Complained about 8. Laugh at 9. Confidence in 10. Hoping for EXERCISE 2: 1. In 1965 people laughed at The Beatles hair. 2. I have every confidence in the system. I am sure it will be a success. 3. The director is hoping for an immediate improvement in sales. 4. Can we rely on him to come here on Friday? He is forgetful. 5. We protected our house against the heavy rains and flooding. 6. I can t choose between the two candidates. They are both very good. 7. The manager was prevented from leaving the building by protestors. 8. The company had to deal with a strike in their American factory. 9. He is devoted to music and listens to it all day long. 10. He went to the head office and complained about the service. PRONUNCIATION: Short /e/ sound = Bet - Pepper - Set Bench - Fell - Hell - Lend - Men - Red - Said - Fled - Met - Shell - Help - Second - Smell - Letter - Exit Meant Debt - Felt Long /e/ sound = Beat - Greet - Seat - Beach - Bee - Be - Feel - Heal - Lean - Read - Seed - Meat - Deal - Team - Meet - Impede www.businessenglishstudy.com 13

LISTENING 2: See audio script PHRASAL VERBS: Set / Keep / Bring 1. We had a serious set back when the system crashed and we lost the data. 2. We are going to bring up the issue at the next meeting. 3. We have to invest in R & D to keep ahead of our competitors. 4. John keeps on at me to buy a new computer, but there s no money. 5. We set up the system to repeat the order every month. 6. There was a big argument in the meeting but I just kept out of it. 7. The financial crisis nearly brought the company down. 8. We were all set to enter the CD market when the industry crashed. 9. The Beatles were bringing in a million dollars a day in 1970. LISTENING 3 1. The Beatles stop producing new music 2. They are creative and repackaging the albums into different concepts. Ballads or rock, for example. 3. They release rare tracks, interviews and demo tapes. 4. The music is released slowly to create a demand as they did through itunes, ten years after the ipod was launched. 5. It introduces The Beatles to new customers, and reintroduces their music to long time fans. BUSINESS EXPRESSIONS: 1. Digital music trends? I need a crash course to understand it all. 2. The results were bad but creative accounting made them look better. 3. We always make mistakes when we try to cut corners 4. I can t decide right now. Can I sleep on it? 5. He isn't a very good salesman. He struggles to close the deal. 6. She didn t ask the hard questions at the meeting. She bottled it. READING 2 - Continuing the Revenue Stream - The Beatles 1. How successful are the Beatles today? Apple made a big deal of The Beatles finally being available on itunes. They sold 2 million individual songs in the first week along with 450,000 albums generating over $8 million in revenue. 2. The Beatles earned more money in 2017 than Ed Sheeran and Adele. Despite splitting up in 1970, Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, together with the estates from the Beatles two dead members, received $35 million from their licensing company, Apple Corps. 3. Paul McCartney earns $48 million per year. This means $4 million per month, and $1 million per week. 4. By comparison, Adele earned $21 million, while Sheeran made $12 million. 5. The earning list, published by Forbes, was topped by Taylor Swift, who made $75 million over 2017. Help us to improve the quality. If you notice any mistakes in this module please report the error to: info@businessenglishstudy.com www.businessenglishstudy.com 14