[thechat] 21st century rock star

[Beau Hartshorne]

A friend of mine is an excellent musician. He's been approached by one
of the big record labels, and may negotiate a record deal with them.

 From what I've read, I have a feeling that the music industry will
probably take him for a ride for all he's worth.

(I'm thinking of this article specifically:
http://dir.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/index.html)

But there's the Internet. How could the Internet help this guy make a
living, without having to sign his life away on a record contract? I
know there's epitonic.com, mp3.com, and others. I think he's better than
just that. I want him on real radio stations, on real TV shows, MTV, all
the things that the record companies might be able to provide him with.

Is this possible? Why not? What can we (as in all of us) do to make it
possible?

Down with the oligopolies!

Beau