Allowing creatives and intellectuals to pursue their art as a profession is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern society... ...We really need to figure

Allowing creatives and intellectuals to pursue their art as a profession is one of the greatest accomplishments of modern society... ...We really need to figure out a way to preserve this... It's possible to agree with this sentiment while still believing that the music industry, as currently incarnated, is not the best vehicle to accomplish this goal. The current shift we're seeing does seem to limit the instances of extreme success for individual creatives. This might not be a bad thing, if it provides a venue for more individuals to succeed, if at a smaller level. I think this is happening as the record companies slowly get moved out of the loop, but it's still early days and the new models for success are most certainly not yet fully fleshed out.