Today the business is based upon a value structure of commodities, whereas before the emphasis was on artistic value. Those little labels like Sun, King, Chess, and Brunswick were run by guys who loved the music and were willing to take a big risk. They knew that it might take them a while to develop an act, but they believed in that person. That's lost today. That shift crept into all of popular music, and so you started to see the producer who also wrote the songs and was sometimes the artist as well.
Producers face enormous pressure to churn out hit after hit.
Labels want to hedge their bets, so they hook the artist up with several producers and hope that at least one track hits the top ten with a bullet. A publisher can bring together artists, writers, and producers on a speculative basis and let them develop the artist's sound, all for much less money than it would cost a label. The team can work on a winning formula, and the publishing company can shop around for a deal. Then when the artist gets a deal, that company has the publishing rights. Laskow points out that many musicians are turning to his organization for the development once provided by record labels.