> Record labels functioned as venture capital firms. Record labels acted as industry gatekeepers who hoovered up talented young performers, paid them gas-stati

> Record labels functioned as venture capital firms. Record labels acted as industry gatekeepers who hoovered up talented young performers, paid them gas-station wages then spat them out once they'd finished exploiting them. Now, a youngster can learn their craft from youtube videos, record in a home studio using affordable equipment, and distribute their music worldwide using BandCamp. I personally know two people who have quit their dayjobs (in music equipment stores) to create music fulltime using this model. And this is in a sparsely-populated backwater city. It's a frigging beautiful time for the artform yo'. I'm jealous of the youngsters!