[tjansen]

Sure, but in the meantime the label made the band famous, which is worth a lot of money. They have a much larger audience at concerts, can sell merchandise and possibly have other sources of income. And, when the record contract expires, they can negotiate better terms.

[MattBearman]

No question, any band will tell you that record sales is their least significant income source, for most merch is the big earner.

What bothers me most about this situation is that musicians would exist without labels, where as labels would not exist without musicians, the balance of power is all wrong.

[protomyth]

Some musicians would exist without the labels, others need the push / image machine.