"It just depended on your deal" is a bit misleading, I think. I don't know (anecdotally) of anybody who got a good deal from a record company prior to 1970 or

"It just depended on your deal" is a bit misleading, I think. I don't know (anecdotally) of anybody who got a good deal from a record company prior to 1970 or so, as Mick points out. The fraud and coercion reported by most artists is mind-boggling; artists were fleeced as a rule.