kcrw.com: "It's a wonderful time to be a recording artist. Though the record business may never return to the glory days of the past, today's artist has far greater flexibility to forge expansive and direct relationships with the people who finance their careers -- their fans.

No longer do bands need to wait for validation and fortunes from a major record label to kick-start their careers. Today's recording artist can forge their own reality -- on MySpace free of charge and open to all. In fact, MySpace is the #1 site for musicians to audition their music to fans. The unexpected consequence is that record labels are listening too. In fact, just about every label in America uses MySpace to find new talent.

This does not mean the era of the record label is over. Structure is still needed to keep a band's business operating effectively. But the net effect of the online audition has helped changed the economics of the record deal. Today's deals limit the record labels' creative involvement, its back end royalty rate and the term of the contract Artists receive far less advances up front than before, and must often use their own resources to tour." More

How MySpace Is Changing the Record Industry

The Music Industry and the New Digital Economy
kcrw.com: Apple's Steve Jobs rocked the online world with a letter calling for open downloads of digital music, without piracy protection. Media entrepreneur Jason Calacanis joins industry insiders, including KCRW's own Celia Hirschman, for a discussion of the realities facing the music instustry in the new digital economy." Found via The Politics of Culture Podcast

The Music Industry and the New Digital Economy