New groups starve, a few groups at the height of their popularity do extremely well, and artists whose glory is fading are all but pushed from the nest. Recording industry executives counter that the cost of the medium is the least part of the equation, that producing an album is an investment much like venture capital. They cite development costs, production professionals, consultants, and promotion. More likely though, they produce what the label exec wants. And when I like a group, I can typically buy its CDs for about half of what they cost in the stores, and the group gets half the profit.
Some groups have a new, genuine sound.
As musicians begin to realize that they can successfully promote themselves directly to their audiences, the very nature of the music business will change. It matters to some audiences, but kids tend to listen to the styles they already like, and the styles are ever more narrowly defined. Within punk music, my daughter cites ska, traditional punk, skunk, hardcore, and more. Radio stations can't keep up. Neither can the record companies.