of dollars to promote a new single" (Boehlert). This pay-for-play gives artists under the big record labels and unfair advantage over those who are on independent labels. This is also a way the big record labels can control what we listen to; they can control what is popular. They can put Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake on the radio all day long, but lesser known artists may not get any promotion on radio play. You may be thinking, "Well, what's the problem with the independent artists? Why don't they get on a big record label?" The answer to this is found all over Downhillbattle.org. There is an article called "The Problem With Music" by Steve Albini that breaks down what an artist makes compared to one of The Big 5 (BMG, EMI, Warner Bros., Sony, and Universal) recording companies. Basically the profit comes down to this: for every $16 CD that is sold, the artist or band receives less than $1. By breaking away from The Big 5, artists may be able to make more profits, but this will not be enough to get the
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