[CdocZ]

Here's what I think they should do - feel free to discuss

- Stop investing further in am/fm radio and start the move (steadily) to digital
- Make a move towards more advertising and scouting for bands, rather than running them/producing them (also steadily)
- Let bands (once settled) produce themselves (as Radiohead recently showed was possible)

This way, the record companies survive and fulfill their purpose to spread the music of whatever band joins their "allegiance" (end signing, it leaves too much control to the record company). Furthermore, the bands will have much more freedom to make their own music, instead of being discovered and then asked to fill in a niche on that companies affiliated radio programs. The musicians will make more money while still getting the advertising they need, the amount of money people pay for music will go down but allow the musicians to still make money (Radiohead made an average of $10 per album sold), and the record companies get to survive.

The current technology that is out there/developing isn't the friend of the record company: the CD is dying with the massive amount of music online, and the radio is steadily being usurped by the digital radio (as prices drop). I don't see how they can have a long future ahead of them unless they make this move with the bands, which is a move towards bands being independently/semi-independently released.

As said earlier, feel free to discuss.