Chicago Tribune MySpace, MyStage: "Who needs a record deal? Artists now can sell their music directly through MySpace... Such technology allows musicians to bypass big distributors and sell directly to their fans. But there can be a downside, those in the music industry say. Go-it-alone acts don't have nearly the marketing muscle or publicity power of traditional hit-makers, so independent artists must find ways to market themselves, book shows and sell their music in a crowded field."

But the problem without the traditional intermediaries is that the intermediaries often add value. In the unfiltered mix of music in the market, there is a lot of crap. Additionally, many artists appeal only to a particular niche audience. Intermediaries help to filter the music towards the audiences. While MySpace, CDBaby and others help independent musicians stand on the same footing as their signed counterparts, the bands on labels have more capital and access to the press. Those matter.

Simply throwing some songs up on MySpace enables artists to distribute music to their audience easily. That does not, however, help an artist find the audience.