The poor artists! Seriously, the music industry needs to stand up and recognize the times. Music has become the marketing vehicle for artists vs the revenue stream. Why do you think Madonna made $140mil on her last tour but netted only $500k on the music sales of her last release and then abandoned her label? Because the revenue for artists is more and more coming from live performances, merchandise, tour, online and PR activities. The music industry should spend their time and energy helping artists maximize these revenue streams while utilizing the music to market vs wasting all of their time on lawsuits aimed against the tide of technology and consumer habits. If I were an artist, even one trying to break out I would maximize the many different ways to distribute my music, build my popularity and virally market myself vs ever signing with a label.
To me, as a music fan I am excited about the future of labels having less and less influence on the music we listen to. I look forward to the days when manufactured, talentless pop stars are no longer promoted endlessly and truly talented artists get discovered by the fans properly. One day, hopefully huh?
