The cost of making music is nowadays the cost of the time of the artists. Recording can be done essentially for free (less than 10,000$). In fact many artists

The cost of making music is nowadays the cost of the time of the artists. Recording can be done essentially for free (less than 10,000$). In fact many artists chose to have a studio at home and do away with that cost entirely. As a lot of artists effectively work for free: the cost is zero. In fact, the expectation nowadays, in many cases I've personally heard from them, is that new artists proposing themselves to a label are expected to come with a full master of their debut, self paid.