More examples of the point made in the preceding post:

• Oasis and Jamiroquai will both follow Radiohead’s example and sell direct digital downloads at whatever price listeners are willing to pay.
• Madonna is apparently ditching Warner Bros. and moving into a ten year deal with a concert promoter to distribute her music and market her brand – a concert promoter with no vested interest in preserving the status quo. (BTW, Madonna will be in her 60s when this deal expires.)

Basically, the acts at the top and bottom of the music pyramid are moving in directions where traditional record labels (and traditional distribution models and media formats) have no role. Ten years ago – before the web permeated our lives, before the iPod, and before near-ubiquitous access to broadband – this would have been inconceivable.