Now more than ever it's possible to record quality things, sell them, market them yourself, without a major label. The big stopper at that point is getting major airplay. It depends how accessible the music is. If someone is doing some Elephant Folk music, and it's not going to get played on radio stations, then the majors may not be able to do much for you anyway. If you're doing mainstream or commercial music, there's no question the majors can do more for getting your record played, distributed, and sold, than you can do for yourself.
Some people are really into doing the music for the sake of the music.
Now I'm moving into a new phase. Maybe they don't want to tour or anything else. Those people should stay with their own label if they don't want to deal with the other pressures or it - the press, the touring, and the idea of having business executives control your career. Some people don't work very well with others in the first place. So it's something they can look at as an option.