Just exactly the right thing, at the right time, from the right guy, Chuck D:
The last straw was the CD period, when labels increased their markup without raising artists' royalties in kind. At the same time, record companies created the concept of a disposable artist; with jacked-up marketing and promotional costs, record companies stopped nurturing career artists. They have been able to fatten profits by flipping small batches of artists in and out. That is today's music industry. Well, Napster has been a thorn in that bull's side. By exposing people to music, companies like Napster are creating new fan interest and establishing a new infrastructure for unknown artists to attract an audience -- a new radio for the new millennium. This is on the New York Times website for the next day or so: http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/29chuc.html
