I don't disagree with that premise. I advise anyone who has written original songs NOT to let them get out of his/her own control (i.e. distributed by another publisher). That way, the songwriter gets a higher percentage of the deserved royalties.
If they don't give the rights to the RIAA cartel, they can't get on the radio, which is in bed with the record companies in a payola scam. And if they can't get on the radio, they can't have a career. Both the stations and the RIAA know that. So they loan the artists tons of money to record, front a small amount of payola to get them airplay, and drop them like a bad habit if they don't instantly hit. Then they're in debt to the record cartel for more than they can ever pay back, and more often than not, the cartel controls the songs. And they say WE'RE stealing? I think not.