Fascinating thread. There are now two others on the "cat" directly directly influenced by this one, with some personal experiences to go along with the ones here.

"Stiffed" by Record Company

"Sign on the Dotted line, kid"

This one's gettin' hard to load. Anyone want to start part two? (I won't 'cause it's mostly Brit folks discussing this, and they're the ones who know if it's run it's course or not.)

Rick