341 MCP 12 (3) pp. 341–356 Intellect Limited 2016 International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics Volume 12 Number 3 © 2016 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/macp.12.3.341_1 PHILIP M. NAPOLI Duke University Requiem for the long tail: Towards a political economy of content aggregation and fragmentation ABSTRACT This article revisits the long tail phenomenon, a dozen years after it was first artic- ulated as a model for the digital media economy. As this article illustrates, both the research evidence and the evolution of industry practice have demonstrated that the long tail phenomenon has failed to take hold to the extent expected. This arti- cle outlines the interconnected technological, institutional and economic factors that explain the decline of the long tail, and considers the implications of this decline for media policy and media research. INTRODUCTION As has been well-documented, the discourse surrounding new communi- cations technologies tends to swing on a pendulum ranging from utopian to apocalyptic. So, for instance, social media, which not long ago were being praised for their democratizing potential and their ability to facilitate uprisings against repression, are now being characterized as undermining KEYWORDS long tail media policy aggregation fragmentation Netflix media industries