This is a very sensible analysis of the problems. On the one hand, people tend to ignore how many bands fail, and how much money and effort is spent on the pro

This is a very sensible analysis of the problems. On the one hand, people tend to ignore how many bands fail, and how much money and effort is spent on the process. On the other hand, labels have a deathgrip on the industry, using payola and other practices that they can afford thanks to their financial (and accounting) abilities. One thing that could help is transparency, but in a way the lack of transparency is a good part of what keeps the system going. Most people would not agree if they knew how little they would keep if they were successful; "what do you mean I have to pay for the losers?". They would just want to pay for what was necessary for their success, ignoring every expense that didn't work as a "stupid label decision". The thing is that nobody has a true recipe for success, you can just get reasonable estimates on your bets, but each bet will always be a biased coin flip.