&gt;<i>Heck, if ReverbNation or BandCamp wanted to get into the &#x27;stand-alone, broadcast&#x2F;streaming, exposure and small payment per play&#x27; market, they could have a distinct advantage in that their content sources are, predominately, unsigned and able to negotiate in good faith (in theory).</i><p>Yeah, but also the very big disadvantage that nobody cares for those artists [1], even for the better ones among them.<p>This kind of &quot;long tail&quot; [2] idea never panned out, because it turns out most people mostly go for the few acts at the top -- and, heck, even those today are not doing very well, sales and streaming licenses wise.<p>[1] Using &quot;nobody&quot; as an emphasized &quot;very few&quot;.<p>[2] Referring to this Friedman&#x2F;Gladwelian notion that the long tail is big enough to be profitable, as in: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thelongtail.com&#x2F;about.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thelongtail.com&#x2F;about.html</a>