Except that record companies were never created for anyone's benefit except their own. But also this article was written in 2006. It is now 2014, and hiphop h

Except that record companies were never created for anyone's benefit except their own. But also this article was written in 2006. It is now 2014, and hiphop has not been killed. In fact, this particular issue became a big nothing. Record company's are really just banks now. They finance the artists, and perform marketing. And once the music is for sale, they take a portion of the profits. And to do so, they have some rights over the work, just like a bank has over a property under a mortgage. Ideally, you wouldn't need outside financing to take your music to market. But if you do, you need to get the best deal. And if you are a nobody, that deal isn't going to include much for you. So bootstrap with small investors first and short term deals. Banks, errr... record company's need a big portion of the profits, because half of their investments will fail. Well, half is probably generous. But if the rate of return for being a record company was so great, there would be more people doing it. Actually that happened, and there are lots more record company's now than ever, because you no longer need to be big to fight for shelf space in HMV, as HMV is almost bankrupt.