I don't think that's strictly true. Plenty of very creative musicians/bands out there. What the labels are pushing (although this is nothing new) is more formulaic. People stretching the boundaries of creativity have never really sold lots of records anyway. And so, when the accountants became more important in who gets signed/pushed etc, it's going to be what they think they can sell.

this is going to sound like a plug for a mate's album but bear with me.

David Ford released his self-distributed new album, Let The Hard Times Roll, on Monday. £4.49 on Itunes.

By last night is was available free online, thanks to some kid in California. He probably thinks he's some kind of freedom fighter, but in this case he's just taking money from the artist and no one else (okay, Steve Jobs).

I've spent a good portion of this morning trying to get this taken down and it appears there's simply too much of it going on for anyone to stop it. Plug one gap, another opens.

So - no big surprise to me that EMI can't make money.

I think your mate, EMI - everyone really - is going to have to accept that making money from a product that can be digitally disseminated is going to get more difficult - unless you can appeal to a less sophisticated mainstream - hence there's still money to be made in SuBo and Cowell land.

That being the case, it's fascinating to speculate what kind of artists will be able to make a living in the future - and how new acts will be able to break through.

I wonder how many of our favourite artists would still be making music if they didn't get paid to do so? They may have found that making a living sometimes gets in the way. If we think Van the Man is grumpy now could you imagine him if he wasn't earning a buck for it!
I do get your point however.

is ACE. Former singer of inde also-rans Easyworld. Left to pursue a solo career and found his own musical place. Trust me, he's really bloody good. I played with him a couple of years ago and he played a tune called State Of The Union and it completely blew my face off. He used one of those loop pedals to add layer upon layer of texture to what he was playing to very, very powerful effect. Lovely chap too, and wears a hat well.

I'd say creativity remains the same - the music industry which is visible to most is merely the tip of the iceberg.

I think the key now is whether a band can play live or not. Records, like it or not, are simply less important than they used to be. Ergo, less and less artists will be able to sustain a career by hiding behind a well-produced record to compensate for their playing shortcomings. My prediction is general quality will go up as a result of this natural selection process. Artists will find new ways to sustain themselves using live performance. Music will remain the most powerful force on the planet. Alex stays a happy bunny.

"If music ceases to be a path to fortune, the people left doing it will be the ones who just *have* to - proper artists in other words."

Even those people still need to make a living at it; being a musician doesn't, in itself, pay the mortgage :-)

I'm sure there'd be a huge outcry from the "If it ain't working class/from ver streets, it ain't real" crowd if a career in music became the sole privilege of those with the means to fund that career themselves.

From the moment I first heard Buddy Rich and Sandy Nelson in the late 50s I knew that playing drums was what I wanted to do, but I wouldn't have been a full-time musician unless someone was paying me to do it.

...is that they borrowed a fortune to buy the company at the top of the market and now find themselves having to service the debt out of reduced earnings. Fans of a lot of Premier League sides, ManYoo most prominent among them, will be familiar with the problem.

granted, but I think it's just brought forward the crunch time for them - I know that Warner Bros are equally at a loss as to how they're going to make money from music in the long term - or at least enough money to keep their shareholders happy.

...for those who work for the company though. Hardly anyone ever mentions that!

.. they could always ask Kate Bush to knock out a couple of quick albums to tide them over for a while.....