> also...take the money and run?  from the information
> i've been given recently, that can mean that your
> music gets in essence 'stolen' and held hostage if the
> label decides to not release it, but not let you out
> of your contract, holding you in music
> purgatory...which doesn't seem like any sort of
> 'bankrolled shot' at much of anything to me.

That happened to my friends in The Badlees -- a wonderful central Pa. band
for those not in the know. They hit it big-ish in 1996 with a record on
Polydor ("River Songs"), and were all set to record their follow-up when
Polydor was swallowed up in the Universal merger madness.
The follow-up record sat on a shelf for three years until they were finally
let out of their contract. Pretty much killed dead any momentum they'd built
up.
Now, they're still a huge regional draw, and are on their way back to a
higher national profile, but it was -- according to them -- a morale-sapping
experience that damned near killed the band (and God knows, that same merger
killed many other bands.).
I'm not making any judgments vis-a-vis the virtues/disadvantages of major
label life (full disclosure: I'm also one of those hobbyist guys who's
released a record or two while clinging securely to my day job. Mad props to
anyone who decides to make a go of it on music alone. I could never summon
up the fortitude to do it), but that kind of story would scare the bejeezus
out of me, and make me think twice about signing to a big label.

For what it's worth.
John Micek

http://www.milkshakejones.com