(Not from the Onion) Got a net worth of $2M and $50K to spare? You can buy stock in Queensryche!

[ProfessorGAC]

1. I Dunno Rock

There are some good points in your add, but at the same time, the record companies have been an impediment for decades.

If they don't control, but simply bankroll, they certainly deserve a return on investment. However, it is well documented that they take a huge percentage to cover the costs of the "misses" when they are the reason for the "misses".

The companies then mitigated their risk further by making it harder and harder for new acts to get a hearing. Hence the rise of Indie.

Finally, they consolidated all activities into a far greater proliferation of packaged acts. More than ever before. (I admit they've always been around, but today they get nearly all the promotional push. What else explains Katy Perry?)

So, while i buy your "what about the new members" and "why so much for the lawyers" statements, i am for a paradigm that makes the record companies nervous.