I see this on myspace, local bands getting a following, making their own CDs and marketing themselves through the internet, depriving the executives of big bucks. I think the new artists themselves are probably happy about this news. I think the industry was spending so much on marketing for a while that artists became indentured servants until they were able to pay off their marketing costs.
Most people don't realize that. Just because you see a band on MTV, this doesn't mean that those guys have any money in their bank accounts. Now the record companies are even taking cuts from touring! Most of these young bands are so desperate to be signed that they wind up committing themselves to horrible contracts.
It is even worse in the rap/hip-hop world where the "artists" have to employ an entourage, bodyguards, handlers and legal representation. Not to mention the mafia-style tactics of the rap moguls. Believe it or not, a lot of the "bling" they wear is leased! They're given a per-diem to buy nice clothes and go to clubs but at the end of the day, nothing is saved.