Seems to me the fundamental economic difference is that record labels control distribution, so they have much more leverage than VCs. edit, found a source: "Th

Seems to me the fundamental economic difference is that record labels control distribution, so they have much more leverage than VCs. edit, found a source: "This pattern is mirrored in many other industries, such as the music industry, where record labels control radio / media distribution and are much more powerful than the actual artists, or the clothing industry, where small designers are beholden to retail outlets and have to take terrible terms to get distribution. The takeaway? Being the distribution platform is a lot better than being a producer." [1] http://areallybadidea.com/what-i-learned-from-watching-six-hours-of-sta http://areallybadidea.com/what-i-learned-from-watching-six-h...