The landscape of music distribution has changed more so far this years than in the previous seven. The majors are losing their grip and the artists are realizing that the money to be made is off of ticket sales. Today it was announced Brent Rezer of Nine Inch Nails, another major artist followed in the tracks of Prince, Radiohead and The Eagles and is leaving the old system in the dust in favor of fresh new Internet possibilities. The Eagles recently made a direct deal with Walmart for a flat sum of money….even if they never get airplay they come out great on the deal. The Radiohead album is just coming out and expect more artists to follow suit as contracts expire and they become free agents. The problem for the labels is that they have no participation in the “live” revenue streams of the artists and the artist can literally give a way their music and still be way ahead by increasing demand for ticket sales. No question that a name artist with a built in following just doesn’t need the old system where they give up so much of their revenue to support highly paid executives lifestyles. I believe that the next wave may be a situation where record companies act more like banks and fund tours, merchandising, possibility even recording not on a contract basis but instead on a percentage basis. They will no longer “own” the artist or their music. Today the tables have shifted and the artist has become king and the new guard who figure out how to cater to their needs will take over the industry. It’s any man’s game…and it’s the first time it’s ever happened in the history of the music business. The only thing left is if someone figures out how to break and establish new artists via the net then it’s checkmate…game over. More to follow!