Back in the old days of the pre-internet music biz, getting your album “out there” still was a big deal. Every independent artist that actually managed to squeeze their album in on the ever-short rack space of the traditional bricks and mortar-retailers had due reason to be proud, as this by all means was sort of an achievement, even for artists actually signed for a record deal. The most notable reason  for this was the fact that the whole distribution chain was controlled by the record labels – an essential aspect that proved to be the very backbone of their market domination. For the labels, having the power over the distribution channel meant being the sole gatekeeper to decide on which artists to be introduced to the potential customers. And since the superstar-album combination was the ultimate cash cow of a healthy market that saw increasing revenues every year, upcoming acts had a hell of a hard time to be considered for distribution when new releases by any of the established platinum acts were scheduled. Continue reading »