[Kathy in Alaska]

I think they have deliberately obfuscated to whole process to keep independent musicians out of the game.

And that should surprise no one....

[left that other site]

Indeed. I have actually been able, in the past, to hand-make large editions of self-published, self-recorded, self-arranged, self-performed, and self-manufactured Audio CDs. These editions of hundreds were individually handmade in my own personal studio in a spare room in my apartment. Many independent musicians in S. Florida partook of my services, and it was a joy.

Now, one can’t even buy the raw materials to manufacture these.

Back-in-the-day, Office Depot used to sell me the blanks, jewel cases, labeling software, inks, and special paper in bulk!

And there was NO copyright infringement as it was all original music. We were NOT hurting the big music companies because it was a tiny niche market. But I guess that just “wouldn’t do”.

One sees the only recording workstations in thrift stores on occasion, but the media is obsolete and nobody has the means to play the music anymore.