his seems a good place again to post this link to a talk on the music industry.

I think this speaker is likely to be right that "success" on the scale of a successful band signed by a major label is not likely outside the system run by the major labels. But there is more than one way of defining "success".

Here is Harvey Reid's essay on the performing rights societies.

I'll say it again...and again...and again....we need:

-> a shorter term of copyright

-> some reform of the music licensing system

T.