It would seem that once you were established you'd have a better chance of going it alone - Andy M. Stewart, for example, is very well known by those who like traditional/celtic music. There would be a lot of people following his career and waiting to order any CD he were to release. But many artists who are now running their own labels made a name for themselves in part because of the promotion and distribution channels opened by a record label. Certainly the music business has changed greatly in the past ten years or so. Anybody besides Rick have any good experiences with record companies?