Record companies are not ripping off musicians

Guardian Unlimited: "The economics of the record company model only work because the hits pay for the misses. Of course, Robinson may think he can better the one-in-10 industry average for commercially successful releases, and he is welcome to have a go. But the fact is that if you tinker with a model that allows 10 albums to be released for every one which is successful, then you threaten the chances of nine of those artists ever being heard. And that wouldn't be good for the artist or the music fan.

The essential truth of this most free-market of industries is that, in a very real sense, it is redistributive. And even an old-fashioned socialist like Robinson should welcome that."