A New, Improved Hit Machine

The collapse of music sales has changed the way stars are made — economist.com

“COME in here, dear boy, have a cigar / You’re gonna go far.” By 1975, when Pink Floyd parodied them in song, music executives had developed a reputation for turning unknowns into stars—and for false promises, burdensome contracts and assorted skulduggery. The reputation clings to them still. But a decade of piracy and plummeting sales has radically changed the way artists are discovered, signed and promoted, as it has changed so much else in the music business. The Rest Of The Story