The problem that most people have is the fact that all of the money goes to the RIAA or MPAA the artist never sees a dime.
this is what everybody says.
its a pitiful excuse.
artists get a small share from the albums. most of the money goes to the label, but, the label are the ones that put up the money for the studios, the rehearsal space, the costs of touring, its all directly related.
it doesnt matter who the money goes to, its copyrighted for a reason, these songs are an investment by the label.
bands are able to function more now without labels because of the surge of good home recording equipment . or they are like NIN and have the money and resources available to get themselves into a studio and pay for their own touring.
if the business plans of the labels were so bad then why would the big names continue going to them. huge names always resign with the same label or a new one when their existing contract is up.
the label removes a lot of responsibility and investment from the artists to enable them to continue making the music that will continue making them money.
there does need to be a change in how the music scene is done because of the availability to download music now.
99cents a song, some people like that, but i buy cd's. every cd i buy, i like every song, so i would rather spend 10-15 bucks on a cd and have something to show for it than pay 99c/song which would average out to about 10-15 bucks in most cases, but at least with the cd i have physical property.