One reason why the music industry sucks

This excellent story about The Dresden Dolls demonstrates the struggles that bands without the legal-pop machine behind them face. We all know about the machine's creation of false pop stars (ala Ashlee Simpson) who are front and center on Mtv and radio (I am certain that the concentration and increasing vertical integration of the industry has nothing to do with these sad state of affairs).

Of course, the exploitation of musicians and artists within the music industry is nothing new. Simon Garfield's classic, Money for Nothing, demonstrates how musicians and some of the best known bands have been taken advantage of by recording companies that are more interested in making money and controlling musicians rather than making great music.