This Wired article is a couple months old, but I just found it and it's blown my mind. Author Chris Anderson describes the new digital media marketplace in a way that reveals how "non-mainstream" material is able to thrive in the unlimited shelfspace of the Internet. Key point:

"The market for books that are not even sold...is larger than the market for those that are." While Anderson focuses primarily on large digital retailers (Amazon, Netflix, iTunes), I think it's also worth looking at the role played by entertainment-related communities and hub sites like Pitckfork, All Music Guide and TV Tome. I've learned about innumerable bands from AMG's "similar artists" feature that I otherwise wouldn't have, even from Amazon's recommendations.

Still, quite an interesting analysis. With the BBC announcing that they will be offering on-demand re-runs to some broadband customers soon, I wonder if we're entering an era of micro-culture, in which we see blockbusters in all media become rarer but success stories like Interpol become more and more common.